There is a common misconception prevalent throughout GAA circles that county teams - amateur, hard-working, and all that - put themselves through excruciating agony with the remote dream of maybe being there on All-Ireland final day, of just touching the silverware. While there may be a small element of truth to this, the underlying fact is that almost all young players are spurred on by the vague promise of the champion's holiday.
This is the time of year that county boards traditionally unleash their All-Ireland heroes on unsuspecting communities in the Balearics and the Carribbean, sending them with blessings for a fortnight's elixir, guaranteed to banish all manner of blues brought about by excessive touring with the cup or one speech too many.
The destinations generally aren't too important, provided they comply to three basic principles - sun, no GAA fields and at least one pub named after a shamrock of unusual hue.
Winning an All-Ireland championship, attaining immortality among your clubmen and a lifetime of free access to all night-clubs in the electoral area, this kind of worship is very well. But the team holiday is where the player gets to bear witness of the most fantastical of sights, where he finally catches a glimpse of the GAA's inner sanctum.
Where else, but the holiday, for example, would you find solemn county treasurers gamely interpreting the nuances of the Macarena? When else would you stumble upon entire inter-county selection committees at large in Bangkok? What better time, than when you see your manager emerge from the slide-pool, gasping, startled and clutching at stretched, bedraggled Speedo's, what better moment than to admit to yourself, "yes, I have misjudged this man."
Scenario's like these will, presumably, be the sort that will enlighten the hurlers of Cork and Kilkenny and the footballers of Meath and Cork over the next few weeks as they jet off to various resorts, for one last fling with life before the heavy duty training resumes in earnest in February. To begrudge the players this small perk would be churlish (lots of fun but churlish nonetheless). But does it actually help?
"Well, I think that the holiday is one of the few tangible rewards for the players and when you win an All-Ireland, the season really becomes terribly long, so the break is needed," commented Michael Bond, who managed the Offaly hurlers to All-Ireland success in 1998.
He felt that the break in South Africa helped the team stomach the prospect of mid-winter training and that if anything, it was the weeks and months after the All-Ireland final that left players feeling flat."
"All the functions and attendant dates with the Cup, they are things that leave a player drained and from a managerial point of view can be something of a hindrance. But is something of an inevitable consequence of taking the championship."
The rise in profile and prestige of the club championship over the past decade has seen an investment of effort almost comparable to that of the inter-county scene and club champions have also begun rewarding their charges with two weeks in the sun.
"I suppose there is an element of risk in the sense that you do lose out a little bit on the training field," said St Joseph's, Doorabarefield, manager Louis Mulqueen - who is unable to travel with the side to Lanzarote. "But in a way, this is sort of a delayed holiday after the win last March.
"These fellas have been working very hard for nearly two or three years, so there is the danger that if we just went straight back into it, they would be flat. We met just for a bit of indoor soccer and to say hello over Christmas and there was a sense of excitement, that everyone was looking forward to heading away together. And you have to ask; how much training would you honestly get done in the first week of January anyhow?"
Because the club series peaks in March, the potential pitfalls are more acute at that level.
"The key is getting the lads focused immediately on their return, settling into the training routine straight away. If we can do that, then the benefits of the holiday should become apparent."
For the inter-county players, the re-adjustment period is more gradual; a few drowsy league games to air the newly acquired tan and a good two months to come to the terms with the fact that your manager, your inspiration, is the same guy who is obviously familiar with the karaoke version of "One night in Bangkok."
Happy holidays, all.
