Now that the provincial club championships are heading for hibernation, it is timely to reflect on the importance, and indeed the pressures, associated with the newest marquee competition on our GAA calendar. Somewhere along the journey, possibly the collision of the AIB sponsorship and the decison to locate the finals permanently in Croke Park on St Patrick's Day, these championships have developed in a way few could have possibly foreseen. The ingredients to any successful mix are vital but this particular association is growing exponentially. Our strategic overseers have even suggested this may be the way forward in the annual attempt to give all counties a fair crack at Sam Maguire. Having played in the provincial club championships in the '80s, my sense, from our clubs perspective, was one of take it or leave it. Nice to be in it all right but the reality was it could not be equated to winning the county. In the aftermath of a county final our preparations and ambitions for that particular season tailed off - essentially you entered and played hoping for the best but expecting the worst. Back then Clan na Gael of Roscommon ruled Connaught and my recall is of them being the only club interested enough and more importantly I guess, equipped, to carry the challenge forward. Chasing their dream, they were so far ahead of the rest they really should have won an All-Ireland if for no other reason, they competed in a lot of them. Alas, they had no joy and it was only after their demise, others began to get more pumped for the trip. When they got the sniff of glory and noted the glamour and prizes that might accrue, many clubs, previously unheralded, began to make hay. Eventually, Corofin and Crossmolina made the breakthrough for the West and by then it was indeed a big occasion. Very often warm sunny days in HQ greeted the finals and the crowds began to swell - nowadays thirty to forty thousand supporters is commonplace. It must rank as one of the great sponsorships from the AIB point of view - they are now indelibly linked with the notion of community, parish, village - a strong and positive association for any large corporation. In a line, it is a marriage made in PR heaven. Using hard cash and well thought out advertisements, both on TV and in the print media, the club championships trail only in importance to the inter county dream of winning in September. It has moved significantly ahead of the national leagues because most clubs, despite area and population do have a realistic chance of success. In fact the subscript to the AIB logo for these games is 'Everything is possible'. As evidenced by the feats of Corofin and Crossmolina that appears to be true and 2004 underlined it with the victory for Caltra. I believe I drove through Caltra recently, decided not to blink, but am still not sure if I missed it. I caught the outline of a small group of houses, hardly big enough to call a village but home to the Andy Merrigan Cup all the same. It is an astonishing feat and naturally the source of great optimism for new challengers Killererin, champions of Galway this year and provincial runners up, mirror the Caltra community. Small is beautiful, less is more and if through a mixture of organisation and the arrival of a handful of outstanding players you can harness the potential, then you certainly do have a chance. I returned to club management in 2004 with my local club, Roscommon Gaels. It was a very enjoyable experience on the playing fields and eventually we won out in the county. The provincial fence was too high but we had a good time along the way. The big eye opener for me, after a break of ten years at this level, was the steep increase in both preparation and expectation. It is early December now and already any club worth its salt is putting together structures for the New Year. Players are insisting on a strong management set up and will only play and commit in a serious way if that is in place. For many clubs it is a serious dilemma. Not withstanding the difficulty in getting suitable, qualified management, the financial factors must be keyed into the equation. Areas such as medical back up, travel, insurance, kit, club holidays and so on are common on any interviewee's list of questions. Much of this pressure has resulted from the exposure many players now get when they are given a taste of county football. Big panels of thirty plus, the provincial leagues (FBD, McKenna, O'Byrne and McGrath Cups) and challenge matches over the summer will mean anything from 70 to 80 players will get a run with their county. When the successful and unsuccessful trialists arrive back to the club they do so with a heightened awareness and decent exposure to the standards these teams engage. While not expecting the club scene to match them, for surely they cannot, the players will seek a standard that is a close first cousin! So now we have a typical club season from early February to early October - county leagues and championships with the half dozen challenge matches thrown in for good measure. If you are in winning form or the county fixtures committee are dodgy, you can play deep into winter. The support required to play for this number of months must be forthcoming from the club but it remains a daunting task. Especially if you are lacking the key personnel needed and the financial resources barely exist. At GAA HQ, the output from the club championships is a very positive one. TG4 is now established as the principle broadcaster of the business end of the competitions and a new and growing viewership can tap into the excitement. Matters such as the presentation of the games, of the venues and the behaviour of the players, managements and officials have an importance not previously noted or bothered with. Poor performance and standards in any of the above is no longer acceptable to any of the interested parties and thankfully the provincial councils (well, nearly them all!) have embraced these needs. As each year passes, the sense of occasion grows and the quality of the product gets added on value. The endgame situation is very clear to me - the finals on March 17th edge ever closer to a truly national event every year. Not only do the four clubs involved bring big crowds but we are witnessing an increase in the band of neutrals who like to see the games played with more abandon than the inter county version. Not quite the innocence of the college scene, but getting there all the same. Thus we will end with eight clubs working hard over the Christmas, having a trot on St. Stephens Day and giving the gargle a broad berth. All trying to ready themselves for the final assault in spring, towns and villages buzzing with anticipation and a few months in their lives where they dare dream of being kings. Consider the excitement for a player or his family who are not familiar with the elite environment their county stars inhabit. They might never have journeyed to Croke Park. For sure, not men now, but giants. The rest of us will look on with a little envy but a lot of respect. The history of the competition has taught us few come back quickly so next year in the county is a clean sheet and the dreaming starts all over again. This, perhaps, is the sponsor's big selling point - nothing is impossible - just ask Caltra! Tweet

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