ONCE more, as if we needed reminding, hurling confirmed on Sunday last that it is the greatest sport in the World.
There is no comparison to be made with anything else the World has to offer.
The skill set that the top players possess is truly phenomenal and is something that maybe even hurling fans take for granted themselves.
There might only be one true way to improve on what hurling gives us and that would be to just give us more.
One swallow does not a summer make, and so Sunday’s titanic battle, the one ‘real’ classic game this season, should paper over the cracks that lie off the field for hurling.
There have been thousands if not millions of column inches dedicated to how hurling structures should be improved and tweaked. I am not going to go over old ground here, but something needs to be done.
Yes, the hurling calendar is a busy one to run off and I am not for a minute trying to diminish the role of the clubs here either. However, hurling fans and indeed, sports fans across the globe, deserve more of this top class fare.
The one roadblock for change that keeps coming up is tradition. The hurling hierarchy keeps coming back to tradition. This of course is the same hurling hierarchy that now has an all Leinster, All Ireland final. Galway, now a Leinster team in the senior game, are playing the perennial All Ireland finalists Kilkenny. Is this right?
Here are a few facts that might suggest that tradition might need to be left behind for the good of the game as a whole.
A) Limerick have two All Ireland’s in 75 years.
B) Limerick’s seven All Irelands since 1884 sees them fourth on the list of winners. Third spot is held by Tipperary with 26 All Irelands.
C) It has been 10 years since the Munster champions won the All Ireland hurling crown.
Take into consideration also that the Galway under 21s will face Limerick this weekend in what will be their first competitive game of the championship. Consider that Tipperary’s senior side played three matches this year: one in June, one in July and one in August.
Something has to change here. All we want is more of a good thing. Is that such a bad idea?
