WHEN David slew Goliath he had no armour, no experience, no equipment apart from a simple sling, he was not battle tested, nor was he trained. But against all the odds he conquered because he believed in himself that he was good enough.
Last weekend was another great one for the underdog, with St Mary’s University College defying the odds on consecutive days in the Sigerson Cup, coming back from two-goal deficits in both the semi-final and final.
As the Ranch sailed to Sigerson success, I began to think that perhaps there was something lucky about playing in the maroon, a colour that has served the men and women of Slaughtneil very well.
The success of St Mary’s got me thinking about how the impossible can become achievable and what the main characteristics of a winner are.
It was just after 10pm on Sunday night and, as I flicked the TV remote one more time, there it was in all its glory. Bingo. Being AP was on BBC1.
A fascinating documentary about a young boy who grew up in the modest surroundings of a small hamlet called Moneyglass in County Antrim, and how he would go on to become the world’s greatest ever jump jockey and Ireland’s greatest ever sportsman.
I now live on the same road as his parents, close to the house where he grew up, and I can say with some authority that Moneyglass is no Coolmore.
But early on in the film, it became clear that a young Tony McCoy had certain personality characteristics that made him unique.
You got a flavour of a man fearless and willing to sacrifice everything to achieve his goals amid the exhaustive training routine, injuries, doubt, triumphs, failures, as well as AP’s soul-searching as he sought a way to leave the stage.
The drive for success and his fearlessness was highlighted in an early scene with his doctor when he listed his past injuries which consisted of a broken left cheekbone, left collarbone (twice), shoulder blade, sternum, ribs (all of them), a back fused from the T9 vertebra to the T12, right arm, wrist, left tibia and fibula and right ankle.
I had a quare chuckle to myself when the list was read out and then I thought about the number of sportsmen over the years who retired due to a recurring ankle, shoulder or knee injury.
But the most compelling scenes are of him coping with the pain and refusing to give up until he was physically broken. Even then, his mind would tell him he could go on.
Addicted to horseracing, addicted to winning, it became clear the 20-time champion jockey never let anything get in the way of his goals. Not injuries, not food, not even the lure of love. There was a great scene that shows him standing in his kitchen, when his wife Chanelle, exasperated with her husband’s stubbornness, said: “It’s not all about you.” Immediately AP quipped back, “Since when?”
In the latter stages of the documentary, she explained how for years he has been “controlling his weight, controlling me, our relationships. He became a selfish person”.
But without that tunnel-vision and selfishness AP McCoy would be someone else and not the champion that he went on to become.
The mental torture he endured when he finally announced his retirement struck a chord and highlighted how difficult it is for any sportsman or women to call time on their career.
His wife suggests it might be a good year to call it a day, to which he replied: “I’ve had enough of this conversation.”
Petrified at not being champion jockey next year, she likened him to “looking at someone living in fear of themselves”.
The fear of not winning anymore. The fear of having to be someone else. Living the life of a stranger. Daily, we read about how football has got too serious, how training regimes for players are now beyond ridiculous and how these amateur sportsmen have no lives.
There is merit in some arguments but I have yet to hear any player say that they regretted making those sacrifices that contributed to their success.
St Mary’s and Slaughtneil are beacons of hope for the underdog and I suppose in a way the Davids of the GAA world. But it makes you ask: why them?
Consider for a second that they may just have done it differently – prepared better, refused to give up and have gone to greater lengths than their rivals were prepared to.
The next time you hear about a David versus Goliath story, don’t think of an underdog. Think of a confident competitor who is happy to be underestimated. Remind you of anyone?
As the ‘gurus’ tell us, there may be no ‘I’ in team but there is definitely one in sacrifice, driven and winner.
If you want to be a winner, look at St Mary’s, look at Slaughtneil. But, most of all, make it personal. Be like David. Be like AP.
