Diary of a Dub

A year of promise, hopes and dreams…..

And so it has begun already. 3 games in. Seems like the perfect juncture upon which to reflect of what is yet to come, to cast out all that which dreams, hope and beliefs are built upon.

Only the quickest of glances into the future. All but a short hop into the next seven months, which can feel like adding 7 years to your life, depending on your disposition. A glimpse of what might be for us, A Que Sera of sorts.

 

What do you hope for? What do you dream of? What do you believe in? Questions to be asked.

Answers to said questions, we do not have just yet, but a filling of blanks will come, and as sure as eggs are eggs, some of the ‘same old’ shall accompany us on this journey once again. Into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul is the journey of sorts you are about to embark upon.

A guide to what will be is where we shall start. Yes, it’s still February, and September seems like an eternity away. Condition you must, and as someone once said to me ‘Summer bodies are made in the winter’ this equally applies to All-Ireland Dublin believing fans. This is our Winter, but dreams are already being dreamt, hopes are already being built, and it’s on this, that the body and the mind must be prepared, and be made.

Perfection Expectation. The thing about success is that it breeds cliché after cliché. Does it breed contempt? Yes and we will get back to that. Does it breed Success? Yes. And we’ll touch on that too. But Perfection has me thinking about the perils of perfection expectation. A football crazy Dublin public, each fan in its own right a newly born pundit, each with their own expert view and analysis. We are but 3 games into the league. Not playing champagne football, but then who is? Listen to some, and the warning signs are already evident. Selective memories from 3 All-Irelands, the highs are crystal clear with any fan, the off-days not so much. And it in this selective, blinkered analysis, is where perfection expectation begins to grow, and disappointment accompanied by discontent will no doubt soon follow. Life is imperfect. It was designed to be. As is this Dublin team. Take each game as it comes. Look for progress, not perfection. Look for imperfections, and recognize, no individual, and no team, is perfect, all of the time. Perfection is a moment, an experience, a random chance encounter. Doesn’t matter if its life or sport. Applies in equal measures. Don’t look for or expect something all the time that will be just a fleeting moment. And don’t build your own perfection expectation in anyone or in any team. Life and sport will simply kick you where it hurts if you do.

Nerves. Test them now. Check you still have them. It’s been 5 months since you last gave them an outing. Don’t want to be caught cold in the thick of battle in a few months-time and find yourself going to pot.  You’re going to need them. If you’ve learned anything being a Dublin fan, then you’ll know that somewhere down the line this year, a mental test or two awaits you. Don’t be caught with your mental pants down, so to speak.

Champagne Supernova. Learn the words. It’s going to be another Oasis year. Airings it shall get. 23 years old is this song, and yet a timeless anthem it is. She has guided you well in this decade, and she has more planned for you. Discover Oasis. You can’t give me the dreams that were mine anyway, but then this Dublin team just might be the exception to the rule. If you can’t be arsed, don’t worry, we will sing it for you, but it won’t be the same for you, yet it will be for me.

Experience. Never forget, it’s the why you go and it’s who you go with it. It’s how it makes you feel. It’s the enjoyment, the high’s, the banter, the craic, the drama and the beers. Never lose sight of why it is you do what you do. It’s a coming again. Immerse yourself in everything, never miss a minute. It can be gone in the blink of an eye. Cherish it as if it was your last, or your first. You decide. It is, above anything else, what we remember most as we look back. You know who you were with each time we won an All-Ireland, what bars you were in, how many drinks you had (minus several drinks as you could never drink that much or admit it publicly), who said what and what songs were sung. Do it all again, be experience-led and savour every moment 2018 has to offer for it will be another plentiful bounty of experience in 2018. I trust those of you who know, you won’t let me down.

Shite-talk. Be ready to hear plenty of it. Kimmage and McKenna were our Punch & Judy in 2017. Expect more. Nobody wants us to win. The popular view is now that of an anti-Dublin one. Fine. Accept it. Make your peace with it. Adopt Radio Silence if required. Don’t react. Keyboard warrior you are not. Hold your head up high, being successful puts a target on your back, whether you’re a player, a manager, a fan or not.  But expect it, and expect a larger dosage in 2018.  

Superstition. Half-brother of OCD. Change nothing. It’s been working since 2015. Don’t care if your jocks are falling apart or if your jersey smells. We are a superstitious folk and we don’t try new routines. Tried and tested all the way. If you do so feel inclined to change your ways, find a new sport and new friends. You’re no longer welcome. Expect 2018 to bring your inner OCD to the fore and don’t resist it. Embrace it. Be at one with it. We will be watching.

Mayo. It could be them again. Their hurt goes on. All we know is they will never be far away. They don’t give up and they deserve our respect. They owe nobody anything and most will argue, and rightly so, they deserve an All-Ireland. Rule nothing out in 2018 when it comes to Mayo.

Kerry. The ones to watch. 2018 thus far is showing a team of promise. Will not lack for anything in the hunger and determination stakes. They, above all will want to stop Dublin equaling their 4 in a row feat of the late ‘70’s early ‘80’s. Under-delivered last year and will be hiding in the long grass waiting for us. A formidable opponent awaits in 2018.

Dublin fans & Dublin. As I have always said. A special bunch of people. A unique breed of human being. Supporters like no other. More will come, and tickets will be harder than ever to get, and for those of you we have yet to meet in 2018, the pleasure will be ours. To this place, this sacred of homes. Expect an out pouring of fondness again in 2018, as you rightly deserve. The home of my heart. The one place on this planet that is called home. The birthplace of our hopes and our dreams. We come a calling again in 2018, and we lay out our dreams once again at your mercy in 2018. Guide us wisely and keep us safe on our travels.

Hopes & Dreams. Dream big, and hope springs eternal. In the sanctity of your own mind, explore that which you dream of for 2018. And as much as caution is called for, dream big and hope for better. Your own hopes and dreams fuel your experiences to-be. Get excited. Be excited. Looking forward, we cannot see the future, so we will fill that road we cannot see with our hopes and dreams. And it’s on that road, we wish to travel. You are nothing without hope, and you cannot hope if you don’t have a dream.  

History. Dream it. Believe in it. Make it. We stand in a place we have never been. 4 in a Row. I’ve been writing this for 11 years now, and I remembered when we dreamed of and agonized for one. This may never happen again and there is a reason why they call it History. And of History, it is said, greatness is never bestowed upon anyone in their present. In time to come, Greatness in everyone will be acknowledged. But this is History, and it’s History in the making. There are records to be broken, and of what we know of Jim, he aint done yet. Not by a long shot and neither are we. No guarantee we will see History in the making in 2018, but we are the only team that can talk of it, that can dream of it, that can believe in it.  We have no god given right to it, nor do we have a sense of entitlement towards it, but we would be lying if we said we didn’t want it.

Gills. We will be there. Will you? Pre-Match rituals are pre-match rituals, and superstitions are superstitions. One shall never pass Gills on your way to a Dublin Match without at least one pint. Nothing changes on the road ahead.

Central Bar. After’s venue. See above. Nothing changes here either. Also see Champagne Supernova. Miss Finbarr. Time moves on but we don’t. See you again soon old pal.

A Game of Inches. In its right, deserves its own blog. Too early to talk of inches, but expect talk of it in 2018. Life is that game of inches and fine margins, of what might have been, what could have been and in 2018, in this team, it will be fine margins and inches again. You have been warned. Those inches are all around you. You just don’t stop to see them.

And so. Are you ready for this? Only looking forward, no looking back in 2018. Your very own onwards and your very own upwards. What do you do about it is up to you.

Life is 10% what you make it and 90% how you take it. Do your 10% now and be ready to make your 90% as good as mine is going to be.

To leave you, as we embark on our Journey, lets us reflect. This team has its own guiding principles. We saw it in 2016, and again in 2017. In 2016, it was Charles Darwin, in 2017 it was Victor E Frankl. This was their quote in 2017, and hung on their dressing room wall in September, when they completed that faithful 3 in a row.

'Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run—in the long-run, I say!—success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it.'

 
Life lessons for us all in that. This is a truly special team led by a truly special leader. Trust in them that they will have something equally inspirational as their driving force in 2018.

For you and I, and for now……

bring your promise, your hopes and your dreams ….and I will see you there with mine.