“Remember, these are the good old days."
It’s a saying my father often quotes to me and it’s something that I told myself as I went on holiday with my young family recently.
Between the tantrums and the fights, children missing for a short period of time as well as “enjoying” ourselves eating out, it has been an eventful few weeks.
Thankfully we all survived the holiday, but it can be difficult when you are in the midst of it all, to think that these are the good old days.
But they are. Children grow up, events and life changes so the crux of the phrase is to remember that what we are witnessing now should be enjoyed because we don’t know what the future will hold.
That is why we hear so many former players and fans who witnessed games in the 1970s, 80s and 90s reminiscence about how good the game and the experience was when they were playing. We tend to put on rose-tinted glasses when we recall these experiences.
It suits us to remember because it creates an emotion in us, to how we felt.
We remember who we were with at the time, be it family members who are no longer with us and friends we shared a car journey to matches.
The banter of fans and chat before the game when the craic and hopes were high.
For players, it was a time when they were at their physical peak and were heroes in the area they grew up in.
Times change and we often no longer feel a part of what we see now because the shared experiences we had are gone.
Life evolves, though, and there are new experiences to share now. How privileged are we to live in times to see history in the making?
Dublin won six All-Irelands football championships in a row, no football team had ever done this. They then defied age and the odds to win another All-Ireland against their great nemesis Kerry.
Limerick refused to believe that three All-Ireland hurling finals in-a-row was all they could muster. Their resilience and belief set them apart to add another and now their quest for five begins. The great Kilkenny teams of the Noughties couldn’t do that. We await to see if this great Limerick team can?
GAA heroes exist in every generation, but not many get to see in person, witnessing the genius of David Clifford who dances around the field enthralling all who see him play, except those who have to mark him, of course.
Some players refuse to go quietly into the retiring light and roll back the years, such as Conor McManus. The connection to the place they are from is a bond so strong that many do not want it ever to break. We are humbled to see these players in our lifetime.
Rolling back the years, though, is something we all crave and Mickey Harte will hope that he can do that as he embarks on a new adventure as Derry manager.
It is 30 years since Derry won Sam Maguire, while Harte who led Tyrone to three All-Irelands, the first of which was 20 years ago this week in 2003, looks to bridge that gap for the Oak Leaf county. The past and the present collide, so can he bridge that gap and set in motion another All-Ireland success, albeit for a neighbouring foe?
So while we chew on this and reminisce on the great feats he brought to his native Tyrone, we look back to look forward.
Remembering the good old days but also acknowledging that there may be better days ahead.
I’m not one for looking too far into the future as we often forget to see what’s in front of us.
But what I do know is that these are the good old days.
Remember that and enjoy. Time will show us that.
