Whether Colm O’Rourke made a formal announcement regarding his retirement from inter county GAA cannot be recalled. There was definitely activity in the media the following year when rumours of a comeback began to swirl.
Either way, feelings in this seat were of tremendous sadness. An era was ending. Of course, the disappointment from a personal perspective – because it was and still is my absolute belief he still had plenty more to offer – was greatly cushioned by the fact that the man himself and numerous branches of his extended family have become very valued friends.
Laugh if you want, but, Rourky to me, from a playing perspective, was the Tom Brady of his era – meriting similar status. And even though the iconic American Footballer brought the curtain down on his glittering NFL career the other day, it wouldn’t shock me if overtures were made in his direction regarding a comeback.
Right here it must be admitted that for a long time the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarter back was the only practitioner of his craft known to me. Over time that has admittedly increased a bit but as has often been said in this space regarding other sporting codes, there’s generally always the one standout participant therein that even those with no interest in a knowledge of will have heard of.
Brady absolutely fills that role when it comes to NFL. And, from a personal point of view, even though others like Aaron Rodgers and Rob Gronkowski and Tim Teebow and Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Mahomes have become more familiar to me, the departing quarter back will always be the one who resonates greatest.
With very good reason too, having collected seven Super Bowl rings and been selected as the MVP in five Vince Lombardi Trophy finals. Now, it’s one of the old cliches in this business when a great of any discipline departs the scene to opine that their like will never be seen again.
Of course it’s all bovine excriment. Just as Jack O’Shea followed Mick O’Connell, Henry Shefflin took over from DJ and Johnny Sexton assumed the mantle from Ronan O’Gara, so it appears Mahomes is the natural heir to Brady’s throne. All the rest of us have to do is sit back and enjoy him doing so.
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