Always look on the bright side of life.
There was genuine disappointment around the country on Sunday evening, not just because we had been comprehensively beaten by a fantastic Argentinian side, but also because the feel good factor that has been emanating throughout Ireland over the past few weeks came to a sudden end.
Whatever about that quarter-final performance, the Irish players gave us some great moments, both on and off the pitch, over the last month.
However, there are a few plus points to be happy about now that Ireland’s World Cup is over.
Our blood pressure will return to normal, meaning we can go back to destroying ourselves with drink and bad food
Oh Lord. That moment at 20-23 against Argentina when we had a chance to level it up with a penalty was physically hard to watch and medically tough on the body.
We had never been beyond the quarter-final of a World Cup, this was our big shot… ah… oh well.
Back to (solely) concentrating on drinking ourselves into a Sunday morning full of regret, shame and a judgemental bank balance.
People who know nothing about ‘sports’ can go back to knowing nothing about sport
Up near the top of JOE’s list of pet peeves are people who needlessly pluralise one of our favourite ever words.
Controversial, we know. I mean, how can you tell if someone really knows their sport, focusing on rugby for now? Well, there are a few hints along the way.
They’ll usually *pronounce the thing right, they’ll have a bigger buzzword vocabulary than ‘Sexton’, ‘O’Connell’ and ‘rugby’ and will definitely not call FORWARD PASS when the ball is kicked ahead.
*JOE has never been found guilty of any of these sporting crimes. Not once. Not ever.
We won’t have the Eir ad music – used once every three minutes by TV3 – going through our heads
That f*cking song.
It started off as something nice and original, then grew on us, then became a bit overplayed, before becoming slightly unbearable and, finally, started taking the piss.
We could just about tolerate it when we were winning, but after the Argentina game it was like a pint of salt (standard salt measurement) in a massive wound.
Anyway, we’re not sure if you’ve heard it yet, so have a listen to the catchy tune and let us know what you think.
Clip via Symphonic
We don’t have to endure any more of that rugby v football crap
Ah yes, the old ‘real men’ against ‘cheating millionaires’ argument.
This view is as annoying as it is antiquated for many fans. Neither sport is mutually exclusive, with the differences in how either game is played often too vast to compare.
There is no doubt footballers should learn to respect the ref’s decision like rugby players do, but to say that they are not ‘real men’ is as immature as what footballers are often accused of being.
This debate won’t go away and rugby and football are equally flawed for different reasons. But, both games are pretty much doing just fine and being a fan of the two is just fine, you don’t have to justify it.
Of course, there is the funny side to it, like when Nigel Owens tries to compare the two in the middle of a game.
Clip via World Rugby
Paddy Jackson can now dedicate even more time to being a social media legend.
He’s captured the heart of the nation without even doing what he’s actually famous for, and that’s not taking away from the fact that Paddy Jackson is a fine outhalf on his day.
However, the Ulster man has brought the laughs and then some via the aul social media platform.
There’s not much more to say than just watch and applaud with your eyes.
Avengers Assemble A photo posted by @tommybowe on
Of course, he was up to all this tomfoolery long before the World Cup, so we’ll take you back to a classic now and hope that Jackson can continue to be the gas man that he is in the future.
He has a lovely voice all the same doesn’t he? Very similar to the original you’d even say.
https://youtu.be/rMTNV9avpwE
Clip via IrishRugbyTVOfficial
So, remember, it’ll be grand. And sure we have Euro 2016 to look forward to anyway, eh? Eh?
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