GO. WHO WOULD HAVE thought this two-letter word could shape the discourse of a GAA summer?
Definition – Go; to travel or move to another place.
An inherently positive word. A word which implies progress. A great word for a sporting organisation to be associated with. Who does not want progress?
GAAGO is progress. Progress can be iterative, as seen by their schedule for this weekend and the “bonus” Galway v Mayo game gifted to RTÉ. There are obvious opportunities to use the platform more effectively, in conjunction with other media platforms, to better cover our games. These opportunities need to be transparently discussed and exploited in the coming months.
Go Games. Progress. Long ingrained improvements in how we encourage participation and development among our future star players, coaches and administrators. A saga developed around Go Games. A needless saga. We all want participation and development. We all want competitiveness. We can have both.
This weekend is the last opportunity intercounty teams have to benefit from home advantage. All intercounty teams except for Dublin that is. Their round robin fixture against Roscommon confirming Croke Park as their preferred home venue.
The between the ears washing machine of GAAGO, Go Games and the huge energy expended by teams last weekend to secure, and throw away, home advantage for this weekend brought to mind a trip to London last October. A long-postponed first experience of a UK soccer match. The accessible Knock Airport facilitating a 24-hour door-to-door trip to London. A Dell boy-esque former Sligo colleague sourced three tickets for Spurs v Sporting Lisbon in Champions League action.
The atmosphere on the North London streets was brilliant. Midweek autumnal darkness lowering inhibitions enough to encourage early evening songs from the masses. The smoke of burger vans catching the glow of the stadium lights. Delusional Spurs fans expecting trophies from their Conte-led army. Small pockets of visiting Portuguese fans politely, for the most part, encouraged to enjoy their impending defeat.
The stadium itself is an amazing piece of architecture. Unlike Croke Park and Lansdowne Road, others seem to feel it is best to finish their grounds on all four sides.
Game kicks off. Huge positivity pours down from the stands. The Spurs players cheered, applauded and encouraged at every opportunity. The Sporting Lisbon defenders struggling to limit the multitude of options their vibrant opponents are offering teammates.
Chances created, corners won, saves forced from the visiting keeper. Huge momentum, a visceral feeling of the ball being sucked towards the Lisbon net. A cycle of events layering up to help create a great positive energy from the home support. Home advantage at its best. Supporters lifting their team to peak performance. Supporters creating an environment where players wanted to express themselves.
22 minutes in – seismic change. A rapid counterattack, a goal for Lisbon. A strange sensation as the sound of silence strangled the loud celebrations of the small visiting support.
What followed was eye opening. The vacuum created by the silence rapidly filled by startling negativity. Groans from one supporter prompting louder groans from others. Groans morphing to abuse of players. Players reversing into their shells and dialling down their pace to fully fulfil the snail analogy.
Their emotional manager Antonio Conte flouncing along the sideline flapping arms in dismay. His performatively flapping arms acting as the conductor of even deeper and more vocal negativity among the home supporters. Players clearly avoiding risk when in possession. Players clearly avoiding the misfortune to have possession at all. These players, among the top 1% in the world, reduced to quivering wrecks by their own home support.
80 mins in and their deep-lying opponents lose concentration allowing Spurs to nick an equaliser. Cue 10 mins of relentless positivity from the stands, matched with relentless attack and numerous opportunities on the back of creative adventure. A breathless finish.
Spurs and Go Games? Imagine. Imagine if negativity from performatively negative coaches and supporters could be replaced. Replaced by relentless encouragement of imagination, risk and attempted brilliance. Replaced by recognition of effort, physical exertion and sacrifice for teammates. If professional sports stars can be as clearly affected by negativity what effect does this have on our developing kids? If positivity can create such an enjoyable and productive environment what effect would ensuring this environment pertains have on our developing kids? What effect could it have on our amateur neighbours putting in professional level efforts to wear their county jersey at senior level?
Who benefits from negative, self-validating, nonsense projected onto a playing field?
Who loses from positivity projected onto a playing field?
Go; to travel or move to another place.
Can the Kildare, Cork, Donegal and Galway followers create home cauldrons of positivity transporting their team, colleagues, neighbours and friends to a higher place this weekend?
Imagine the effect a vocal home support, with a collective understanding to commit to positivity for 70 minutes, would have on their home team of local heroes. And who would regret that positivity even if the result went the other way?
Imagine the atmosphere if the travelling Monaghan, Roscommon, Tyrone and Mayo followers attempted to match this vocal home positivity?
GAAGO, home advantage and Spurs? Park the remote for the weekend, travel to the game, move your team to another place with 70 mins of relentless, unconditional, support. GO!
Neil Ewing is a former Sligo footballer.