THE LAST POINT: To 'B' or not to 'B' is the question

Apologies for the slight mis-quote of Will Shakespeare's famous words but I've become more and more convinced in recent years that it is a question Leitrim GAA teams have got to answer - to 'B' or not to “B”.

The 'B' in question might otherwise be termed a Shield Final but, for the purposes of prose and shoehorning a famous quote into this article, I'm going with the B - forgive the artistic licence but all jokes and puns aside, how Leitrim teams approach secondary provincial competitions tells us quite a lot about our psyche as a sporting county.

The concept of B finals at Connacht level may be a new one but the startling fact is that Leitrim teams have yet to win one at either Minor or U20 level and each and every time, defeat has come against a team that the Green & Gold had either drawn with or beaten - so why the difference?

Is it simply that the idea of trying to get one over on a powerhouse like Mayo once is hard enough and the odds are simply against it? Or it is something deeper, more profound that we've yet to come to terms with? I'll accept that the sample size is quite small to be drawing conclusions from but perhaps most of all, there needs to be a re-set in how we approach secondary competitions.

That's hugely important because as we've seen over the past few weekends, the gaps between the top teams and the so-called minnows looks to be widening more than ever, a chasm that no amount of wishful thinking nor ambitious statements is ever going to overcome.

THE LAST POINT: LISTENING TO THE SAME OLD SONG

That thought occurred to me last Sunday afternoon in Croke Park as a talented Offaly team, brimming with youthful exuberance and heady potential, were swatted aside with almost causal indifference by a Dublin team operating not on a  different level but in a completely different universe.

What made it depressing was that you don't have to be a soothsayer or mystic to see that Offaly possess what looks like the foundations of quite a good team. They are fit, well drilled and athletic, able to cover the ground at a pace but by the end of their outing at GAA headquarters, they were reduced to chasing shadows as the Dubs ran them ragged.

This isn't getting at Offaly - remember they comfortably saw off a Laois team who beat Leitrim in the Division 4 Final and there is a local link with Cathal Flynn, the grandson of the legendary Packie McGarty coming on as a second half sub for the Faithful County. But now they are heading into the Tailteann Cup, what is essentially a 'B' competition and that is where we have common ground.

This Offaly team is being built on their U20 side who beat Roscommon to the All-Ireland title three years ago so with our U20 team raising more than a few flutters this year with their victory over Mayo, a first for the county at any level since 1998, we've got to be looking to the Faithful County for pointers as to where we are heading.

Interestingly, we only have to look at our Ladies team who have a history of competing and winning the lower grades at Provincial and All-Ireland level - a Junior title in 1988 and an Intermediate crown in 2007 are days that will be remembered forever but we've also seen our Ladies team win an All-Ireland U14 B crown and many of those players are now shining for Jonny Garrity's Senior side.

Ladies football started off with just one grade but over the years, they've realised there is a gulf between the top teams and everyone else and now we have three levels to the adult championships - can we see the Men's game following suit and if we do, will counties like Leitrim embrace the challenge and see it as an opportunity to be competitive and, maybe even win something?

But as much as the Ladies football community have embraced those levels, I'm not sure our Men's teams have got their heads around  the idea - some of that is down to disappointment. From what I've been told, lifting the U20s for Saturday's Shield Final clash with Mayo proved extremely difficult, missing out on qualifying for the semi-finals too much of a burden to overcome.

Not for one second am I suggesting that the Leitrim players weren't fully committed last Saturday but perhaps the contrast was best illustrated by the fire and intensity Mayo brought to the contest - Mayo, fifth on the roll of honour at A level, playing as if their lives depended on it and their honour had been insulted, driving home every advantage they could find in Philly McGuinness Park.

That's what I mean by attitude - any Mayo team at underage level can genuinely start the year with hopes of All-Ireland glory, it is a simple fact of life but the scutching they've got from their fans and the media in the weeks since they lost to both Leitrim and Sligo in consecutive weeks meant they came to Mohill with a fire burning in them and it was Leitrim who were unfortunately burnt.

That ability to change their mindset is huge and it could well lead to an All-Ireland B title for Mayo and let nobody diminish what that might do for a team - 1994 would never have happened without PJ Carroll leading the Green & Gold to glory in an All-Ireland B Final against Sligo in Dr Hyde Park in 1990, a victory that stoked the fires of ambition among players and even supporters.

That B title gets overlooked when we recall the glory days but the Connacht U21 and Senior titles in 1991 and 1994 were backboned by players who first tasted glory in Hyde Park, who battled past Antrim in the semi-final in Casement Park so winning at B level can lead you somewhere, building belief and exposing players to a longer season and that all eventually leads to a higher standard of football.

This year has seen the first B series at All-Ireland U20 level while the Minor grade has been expanded to B and C grades so we best get used to the idea of competing in these grades - that's going to take a change in mindset and that could take time because, for all the talk of embracing change, we're still creatures of habit and tradition and once Connacht glory disappears, Leitrim teams find it hard to set our sights on new targets.

THE LAST POINT: UNDERDOGS CAN HAVE THEIR DAY

Maybe that's the big challenge - the GAA world has never been more professional but that also means that for the small counties like Leitrim, their chances of pulling off a shock win are receding simply because the big boys very rarely make mistakes. Cavan and Tipperary's 2020 Provincial wins came against the backdrop of Covid and a rare knockout championship but beating the kingpins has never been harder.

 I'm not advocating giving up, rather fight like dogs every time you take the field but accept there are other possibilities that can fulfil one's sporting ambitions. To reinforce the point, the day the players  from the  Dessie Dolan era  most fondly recall from their careers is the Tommy Murphy Cup Final in 2006 - that's the lesson and one we shouldn't be afraid to learn.