An extraordinary day for an extraordinary football player.
Naturally, before the game, I had a vision of David Clifford doing David Clifford’s thing. in his almost nonchalant way.
The way he seems to glide through the game, shooting point after point and before you know it he’s hitting double digits. almost carefree. But that’s all, right? Genius at work?
See you off. however? No, we certainly didn’t foresee it. His way of playing the game is not without advantages. Given the treatment he receives in nearly every game he plays, frankly, it’s essential.
Neither yellow card was terrible at all on this occasion. Maybe a little too enthusiastic on his behalf. As he told Cusack under his stand after the game, [that] Get into it towards the end of the game’.
Stewartstown keeper Greg Kelly kicking the ball up off the tee while attempting a quick restart shows iron will to win, along with the seemingly insouciant skill we’ve alluded to. is shown.
At the end of perhaps Gaelic football’s greatest season ever, these two yellow cards (one just before injury and one just after injury) are not worth more than a footnote.
Instead, I only remember 11 points, 8 from playing. I remember an image of him and his brother Poody hugging on the field and smiling as much as Laugh Lean.
I will remember the Fossa players walking down the tunnel towards the locker room. .
There is no doubt about that either. Clifford is also self-conscious. He rarely admits pressure. However, on this occasion, he admitted that he felt some sort of burden.
“This one is a little different because of all the pressure,” he said.
“When I play with Kelly, I feel the pressure of having to play myself, but here I feel the whole pressure. [Dermot] I’m deeply involved as chairman, so no, no, the pressure is different.
“It’s very intense, but it’s a complete eruption of emotion when a line is crossed.”
To meet his brother – strangely enough, another man walking in line! – Climbing the steps of the Hogan Stand was also pretty special. The two seem to have a real bond. Their on-field understanding of semi-telepathy suggests it, in any case.
“of course [special] yeah,” he said.
“Paudy is our captain, the leader of Fossa, I don’t know how many years it’s been. He’s been supporting the team and other older lads, so it’s nice for him.
The battle with Stewartstown was hot, but not to the extent that six men were sacked, but Fossa had to figure out a way around the issues posed.
“I don’t know if we were flat, but we were allowing them to come over to us too much,” Clifford admitted.
“In all fairness, they were forwards in the class and they were shaving scores all day, so we knew something had to change at halftime. brought some intensity and added a little more heat to their kickout…and finally crossed the line.”
Success aside, the past six months have been special for Clifford, even on a human level. A split season allows for some chance for normalcy (apparently apart from the Clifford mania that seems to follow him wherever he goes).
“Even if you’re away from the football perspective, you can reconnect with the people you grew up with and be close to them again. It’s hard when we’re back and forth. We can’t have a beer together.” After games during the Kerry season and things like that, they’re the pals you grew up with,” he said.
The new Kerry captain has confirmed his intention to take a break from football, taking a few weeks off to rest and recuperate. As jokingly emphasized, it doesn’t mean that we’ll be back in action sooner than expected.
“Just one Jack [O’Connor] You may not be physically tired, but it’s mental fatigue,” Clifford said.
“I think he’s dead on that one. Knowing that if you feel mentally exhausted, you might be less likely to go to a kicking session or get off the field a little earlier. Thankfully I haven’t had much experience with it, but if I can imagine it, that’s it.
