[caption id="attachment_68925" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Harrington, the winner of three majors, is hoping to rediscover his mojo."]
In ye olden days, it was easy enough to write a column made up of sporting wishes for the forthcoming year. At least some of the space would have to be devoted to a forlorn plea that an Irish golfer would at last deliver on the biggest stage of all and land a major. Sometimes, we have to admit we just threw in that paragraph, more in hope than in expectation. After so many barren decades since Fred Daly, what were the chances of it ever really happening? Well, now that’s taken care of and we’ve used up a lifetime of good fortune, it’s just as well sports fans are greedy enough to want more and more. Here then are our hopes and, in some cases, prayers for 2012.
That Pádraig Harrington rediscovers his mojo. Or at least finishes whatever he’s doing with his swing. Wonderful and all as it is to see Rory McIlroy look like he’s going to change the face of the sport in the post-Tiger (unless Woods really is back!) era, we would like Harrington to return to some sort of competitive prominence before he becomes a staple on the lucrative American Seniors’ Tour. We don’t expect him to ever win another major (so few players do after 40) but we would love at least one magical weekend in which he’d roll back the clock and make a run at a green jacket or a claret jug. For old time’s sake.
That the Irish rugby team stop talking about their World Cup misadventure like it was some sort of missed opportunity. They reached the last eight of a competition where only ten nations take the thing seriously then exited rather tamely with their tails between their legs. We don’t need to read any more interviews in which players involved lament that defeat as if it robbed them of their chance to win the whole thing. They didn’t come close to winning the quarter-final so that, in most logical sporting terms, disqualifies them from talking about how near they came taking home the trophy. Then again, in Irish rugby, normal rules do not seem to apply.
That John Delaney finally receives the recognition he deserves from the Irish public. For too long, the FAI Chief Executive has been hiding his light under a bushel. Hopefully, this summer, he will emerge into the spotlight that is so rightfully his. At Euro 2012, he can show all those naysayers and nitpickers who claim he’s overpaid that here is the sports administrator that other sports administrators call the galactico of the profession. If anything happens Robbie Keane between now and June, Trap could do worse than turn to the man who did more than anybody else to get us to Poland. Delaney looks pretty nifty dancing around the field after matches.
That Katie Taylor doesn’t succumb to the ridiculous amounts of pressure and hype which are going to be visited upon her in the months leading up the London Olympics. Since it was first announced that women’s boxing would feature at next summer’s extravaganza, it’s been assumed by too many people in Ireland that Taylor is a shoe-in for a medal of some colour, most probably gold. As great as she has looked throughout her career (and shame on RTE for ignoring her in the sports star of the year thingy), the Olympics will be a different challenge. She won’t take anything for granted. Neither should the rest of us.
That the return of both Sean Og O hAilpin and Jimmy Barry Murphy to the Cork hurlers is hallmarked by glory and not by grimaces. In our hearts, we believe they can do great things but our heads tell us that the road back to the top of the hurling mountain is going to be long and winding. And we have this appalling fear that en route, there will be too many fair weather supporters too quick to knock and criticize two beloved icons who have devoted their lives to all things red and white. That they have been willing to come back into the fray at a time when our stock is low sums up their commitment to the cause.
That the GAA are smart enough to realize the attempt to regulate when inter-county squads are allowed to meet was well-intentioned but badly thought-out. This rule needs to be jettisoned sooner rather than later as teams are spending too much time and energy trying to circumvent the ban that they might be otherwise investing in their future. Is there another sport in the world where the amateur players can be told from on high that it is illegal for them to try to get together to train in order to improve at their chosen code? Hopefully, it won’t take a player getting injured in an un-insured, unofficial game to force a change of mind here.
That McIlroy doesn’t get stranded on planet celebrity. Hanging around with the world’s number one tennis player is great fodder for the tabloids but remember this, Caroline Wozniacki is a figure of fun, openly mocked by the Williams’ sisters, amongst others, for failing to win a Grand Slam. Effectively, she’s the Luke Donald of tennis, brilliant when it matters least. McIlroy has already got the major monkey off his back but the size of his talent and the age at which he has come to the fore demand he wins more, many more big ones. Colonizing gossip column inches is all very well but here’s hoping he doesn’t get distracted by the glitz and the glamour. He wouldn’t be the first.
That Roy Keane finds inner peace and doesn’t end up at war with the world. Just thought it was worth putting out there. Of course we don’t expect it to happen. Maybe we should just lower the sights a little on this one and hope he finds another half-decent managerial job in the meantime. Greedy we may be but we can do practical too.
