Why Luke Connolly is wearing black socks against Tyrone

Compression socks.

Compression socks are worn to improve the blood flow in an individual's calves. From the moment Cork took to O'Moore Park on Saturday afternoon, heads were turned in the direction of Luke Connolly's socks. GAA folk are mad into their traditions and every team member wearing the same togs and socks is one of the oldest of those. It's a sign of unity, a sign of respect to the crest and any man who dares to differ better be prepared for a tongue-lashing from their manager first and foremost. Luke Connolly wasn't breaking any tradition in Portlaoise in this Round Three Qualifier. The Nemo Rangers club man was wearing his normal Cork socks. The only difference was that he was wearing a pair of black compression socks under his Cork socks. The Compression socks were longer than his Cork socks and that's what made them stand out. In fact, the Rebel forward wears this thermal gear in the majority of games he plays. He has a long history with calf injuries and this piece of gear is important in preventing leg swelling and in turn, relaxing the calf muscles. Connolly wears these, along with thermal shorts, in every game he plays. It was just on Saturday he was wearing a shorter pair of Cork socks. In a dull game in Laois, this was the talking point of the first half. https://twitter.com/kilmurrykid10/status/1015635725776236545 https://twitter.com/babsclio/status/1015631594143600641 Now you know.