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I arrived early at GAA HQ last Sunday as I like to soak up the pre match atmosphere of All-Ireland final day. Normally there is a great buzz in and around Croke Park from about 10am and last Sunday was no different. I was privileged to have been asked to do co-commentary for the minor game and match analysis on the big one, so I had to be in the grounds by 12.45. As it happened, I also received an invitation from the GPA to attend a pre-match reception in Jurys Croke Park at 12 noon. It was a gig for former inter-county footballers and was an excellent idea as the opportunities to meet and chat with former players from other counties are few and far between. In fact during our playing years we would barely look at each other never mind hang about for a chat after matches. So unless you participate in some of the GAA golf classics, you rarely get a chance to say hello. And I don’t play golf! My friend Pat Holmes had arrived at the reception before I got there and, unfortunately for me, had devoured most of the sandwiches. Notwithstanding that minor complaint, the 30 minutes I spent at the pre match event was pleasant. I chatted with Greg Blaney, the former Down centre-forward, and John Lynch, corner back with Tyrone in the eighties. I asked both for their pre match predictions. Neither of them could see anything other than a Kerry victory. And that was the general consensus in and around Croke Park prior to the match, with the exception of the Dublin folk of course.