Four Goals

I know we’re not supposed to care any more. They’re just another team. Some of us can support them, some of us might decide we prefer whoever they’re playing against on a given day.

Sure, there’s a history between us, but that’s in the past. We’ve moved on now. Cheering when they concede a goal should be about whether it was a well taken and deserve goal, not a visceral roar of satisfaction at their humiliation.

It doesn’t matter though. It felt good watching the first goal hit the back of the net. And the second. And the third. And the fourth. There’s something primal buried deep in every Irishman’s soul that can’t help but let out a dark laugh at times like that.

Because we know they’re overrated. We know their opinion of themselves is not matched by reality. And we know they’ll be back next time, determined to ignore and rewrite history, pretending they didn’t crash out of the competition before it really got started, talking up their chances of going all the way.

There’s no getting away from it. Every other Irish county cheered as Meath scored four goals on their way to victory against Dublin today.