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My Love Affair with Rugby
My love affair with the oval ball started 18 years ago or so when I travelled to watch Listowel and also going to watch the AIL. People look me when Munster play and think I am daft as a brush with the way I am when they play whether they win, lose or draw. I am quite an emotional person and rugby seems to trigger those emotions time and again.
In the last few years it has happened more and more when my younger brother has been involved with Garryowen, Munster or this year Crescent. Like most rugby supporters I feel like I have a duty toward the team I am following to get behind them in whatever way possible.
For those that remember me in my teenage years while supporting these teams I can now admit that I went overboard at times but with the passage of time and a few life lessons learned I have grown up and some may even say it isn’t bad sitting near me for a game. With my attention now drawn to the journalism world and my growing ambitions to become a sports journalist I just felt it was time to put my feeling down on paper.
Rugby has given me more pleasure that I could have ever imagined a few years back. Getting to watch Fionn develop as a rugby player has been such a journey that has taken in Ravenhill , Dooradoyle and of course Thomond Park. He has pulled on the sky blue of Garryowen , the green and gold of Listowel and the red of Munster and maybe one day the green of Ireland.
The last two years have thought me so much about the game I love. From a personal point of view I would like to thank my parents for bringing me to all those games , I would also like to thank Munster and Ireland for giving me some of the greatest moments of my now nearly 24 years on this earth. A Huge thank you too to Fionn for going as far as he has. I think it may now be time for this author to start achieving and making dreams of my own. One final note , What you achieved this year Fionn has given me back the hunger to fight for my dream , Thank You For That…
By Cian Mc Gibney.
24/04/2014.