Colin Sheridan: Ageless Morgan still a guarantee of 'buy-in'
SERIOUS SERVANT: UCC manager Billy Morgan during the HE GAA Sigerson Cup Round 3 match between University College Cork and Queen's University Belfast. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
The banks of the river Corrib on a winter's night can be a cold and unforgiving place, but every now and then, when the wind is soft and the rain relents, the collegiate playing pitches in Dangan can provide enough nourishment for the soul to sustain a man till spring.
Last Wednesday was such a night as the University of Galway and UCC played out a Higher Education Division 1 quarter-final in front of a modest congregation of spectators, as many of them intentional as accidental. Whatever their motive for being there, whether it was just to walk the dog or escape the house, they would have been pleasantly surprised by the happy outbreak of a decent game of football.
There was enough quality on display on the field to distract those present from the legendary presence just a little off it; Billy Morgan, 78 years young and as intensely competitive as ever. A remarkable figure to randomly encounter on such a seemingly innocuous sporting occasion.
With Morgan, however, there is nothing innocuous about Gaelic football, especially his enduring involvement with UCC, the skull and crossbones - with whom his involvement has stretched over an incredible seven decades, during which he has won two Sigerson Cups as a player, and four as a coach, the most recent of which was this Spring. How does a man of such years and experience have the energy to keep going? How can he still communicate so effectively with players nearly 60 years his junior, encouraging and inspiring them to play for each other, for a jersey and a collective cause?
So much is written and talked about culture and ‘buy in’, it can often get lost in the ether of pseudo-leadership speak. But Morgan’s UCC, in defeat to Galway, epitomised the concept in such a compelling way, it was hard not to marvel at the old maestro's methods, and wonder how he continually finds new ways to impart them.
‘Buy-in’ is a concept that all managers and coaches aspire to instil in their players, regardless of age, gender, and code. Without it, effort from players can be tokenistic and distracted, and a team can flounder over the very lack of it. Success — and, even more importantly in college football, enjoyment — is dependent on it, most especially because third-level competitions mix the good club footballers with the game's elite, who at this time of year have one, if not both eyes, on looming intercounty gym programmes and arduous pre-seasons.
Last Wednesday night, Morgan’s quiet presence on the UCC sideline exemplified what player buy-in is all about. The Cork side, understrength for the tie, played for 60-odd minutes like a side completely bought in. Their relentless running, movement, and encouragement of each other were the epitome of what Morgan’s management and oversight demand; his players clearly do not want to let him down. They kept going until the final whistle and, even in defeat, gathered into a unified circle, undoubtedly disappointed with the loss, and will have been encouraged enough by their own performance to realise that their case for a defence of their Sigerson crown next spring is in rude health. At the centre of that circle, calmly dispensing carefully chosen words, was their beating heart, Billy Morgan. One Cork player got a private debrief, and left with shoulders straightened, chin raised.
Such vignettes capture the essence of Morgan, and why UCC will likely always succeed under his tenure, regardless of medals won. Last February’s Sigerson Cup final was another remarkable chapter in Morgan’s association with UCC and the competition. A much-fancied UL team stretched to a five-point lead midway through the second half. The men in the skull and crossbones refused to wilt and gradually forced extra-time and eventual victory. In doing so they ensured that another student generation would graduate from the Mardyke, fully bought in to a collegiate philosophy and a footballing culture.
Long after the dog walkers left Dangan last Wednesday, Billy took time to shake hands with a one-time adversary of his, the UCG captain from 1966, Pat Sheridan, who also happens to be my father. Pat, like Billy, had started his journey to Dangan much earlier in the day, arriving first to see his grandson play for the Galway freshers, and staying on in the cold to watch another son manage the senior team to victory over Morgan. They nodded quietly together, no doubt reminiscing about old teammates and foes who raised hell in a lively final in Salthill almost 60 years ago, with Morgan and UCC the victors then. A lovely moment between two men who know a lot about buy-in, and whose love for football has dimmed nothing over the passages of time.
But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is from Laois, and Colm Parkinson is the sun! Words I never thought I’d hear myself say, but November is a bleak month, and sometimes, any news is good news. Especially when it involves creating something new, rather than shutting something down.
It took much longer than it should have, but, as of this Friday night on Virgin Media 2, thanks to Colm Parkinson and his Smaller Fish project, the GAA will have the late-night magazine show it has so badly craved for some time. The details of what’s on offer are still scarce but given the unapologetic energy and growing popularity of his Smaller Fish podcast, chances are his TV offering will be nothing if not fresh, and with any luck, divisive.
The GAA TV landscape has been decidedly arid since Sky’s departure, and they even brought little outside of their flagship broadcasts. TG4 continues to punch above its weight with their club, league and Sigerson offerings, but with so much GAA to cover, a show with current and diverse discourse has long been required to advance the heretofore stale televisual experience.
Virgin has done very well with its rugby coverage, and the hope is they will enable Parkinson to take the same risks behind the camera that he so willingly enjoys taking with a mic in front of his face in a podcast studio. He’s not to everybody's taste, but, crucially, he appears content with that. While an appreciative audience will be crucial to the survival of whatever this might become, authenticity would be a welcome antidote to the contrived nonsense that all too often passes for sports entertainment. Parkinson himself has been critical of the dearth of critical content broadcasters have heretofore provided. This is his opportunity now to back that up. We should all hope he succeeds, if only to prove the appetite is there for something new to flourish.
While the recent county final decider between Ballina Stephenites and Breaffy received condemnation from far and wide for its dubious quality, judging the state of football in any county on one game is a fool's errand. What should concern Mayo folk is their county champions' consistent inability to progress in the provincial championship. With Ballina losing to Corofin on Saturday, that makes only one Mayo club team that has won a provincial title in the past 15 seasons - Castlebar Mitchells in 2013 and 2015, unavoidable proof that club football in Mayo is not the standard bearer it once was. On the evidence of clubs from Dublin, Derry and Kerry, a reversal of this trend might be a welcome boost if the county’s flagging fortunes are to change.
Kyrie Irving hit a season high 39 points for the Dallas Mavericks in their loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night, but it was his choice of headdress during the post-game press conference that caught the eye even more than his trademark handles. NBA stars are renowned for their sartorial extravagance, but, instead of some trademark bling, Irving opted for a keffiyeh headscarf in an act of solidarity with Palestine. Despite wearing it proudly on his head, Irving received no questions regarding the scarf, a strange non-reaction, indicative of America's sports industrial complex’s unbending commitment to ‘standing with Israel.’ Just wait until the next time James Harden wears his pyjamas on gameday and watch the same media equivocate on where his head is at.
