It didn't take long for my effort at trying to 'big up' GAA fans in comparison to those of a certain foreign sport to be exposed as a fraud. If I'd paid more attention to John Maughan's resignation yesterday I would have seen that it had less to do with results on the field, and more to to do with the ongoing abuse he has suffered from a mob of "Roscommon supporters".
No manager deserves this kind of ugly treatment. It's sad to see in any sport, professional or amateur. The rabble who hurled abuse from the sidelines and waited outside the Roscommon dressing room on Sunday can only be described in the choice words of Paidi O'Se, who--under the influence of alcohol (still no excuse)--brutally referred to Kerry supporters, in an interview with Paul Kimmage, as "the roughest type of f***ing animals".
Whatever your opinion of John Maughan--some took exception to his strutting the sidelines in his shorts (and they were short), as he did with Clare in 1992, others for his falling-out with the Mayo stars of the time--he's a real GAA man and deserves more respect and recognition than to be run out of town in this manner. An Spailpin Fanach has an interesting take on how how different things might have been for John: if it wasn't for a certain Meathman, life would have taken a radically different turn and John's life today would have been a lot rosier.
Unfortunately, for John his managerial career continues to be marred by failure. And, unfortunately for the GAA, it seems that we, just like soccer, have a minority amongst us that disgrace and disappoint us all.
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