WHEN Kerry sneezes, the rest of the GAA catches the cold. So if a Kerry man says Gaelic Football is dying in the Kingdom it’s a clear signal that action is urgently needed.
With a record 38 All-Irelands behind them, Kerry is a bastion, a super power and if the popularity of Gaelic Football dies there it won’t be long until it goes into decline in the rest of the country.
Former Kerry player and manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice was a member of the Football Review Committee and after the 49 rule changes were resoundingly adopted a Saturday Special Congress in Croke Park, the Finuge clubman said he’s excited about the future once again.
He is confident that the changes which cut back negativity while encouraging attacking play and the raw skills that made the game popular in the first place will breathe new life back into a sport that had lost its way.
“In terms of attendance, in terms of interest, it (Gaelic Football) certainly had declined dramatically over the last couple of years,” he explained.
“There are still memorable games, but there’s a lot of the same game and I’d be very excited in general both for club and county next year. I think we’re going to have a new game, it’s going to be faster, it’s going to be more direct, it’s going to allow our players – who’ve never been as skilful or as well-conditioned – to express themselves in a manner that is going to be entertaining for the crowds that will be there.
“I think that will transfer down to club level as well.”
The issue for Fitzmaurice was that the basic thrill of playing the game had been steadily eroded to the point where it had become dull, overly-tactical and soulless.
“I think possibly from talking to the lads that some of the enjoyment of playing had gone out of it,” he said.
“Where the enjoyment was was in competing, trying to win but the actual joy of playing that all of us in my era would have had a lot of was gone.
“I think that will be back. I think players are going to enjoy just the act of playing again as well as competing.
“So I’d be very excited for football in Kerry and also nationally and I can’t wait for the games to start, I can’t wait for the bright coaches and managers to get stuck into it, to bring their own nuances and to see the best version of our players now rather than the way that a lot of their talents have been limited over the last couple of years.”
