The Weight of History:

Never Beaten By Kerry in 5 matches

5 in a row

Never lost home game when he scored

All fo the above are current sporting facts or are part of history and can be used as motivation or a defense for predicting a  win for teams when in engaged in sport but how much of a difference do things like that really make?

Kerry lost to Down last weekend  not because of the weight of history but becuase they were the better side.

Kerry would have had no hang up's about the previous defeats but there is no doubt doubt that James Mc Cartan's side did not want to be the one's who lost the record of never losing to the KIngdom.

Slight though it may have been as an advantage there is no doubt that it was surely mentioned at some point by management.

Tradition and history are important in any sport and without them you have no context so therefore it is natural that every sporting fixture between teams which have met before is considered and all "facts" are trotted out.

Kilkenny go in search of history over the coming weeks and if they reach the final then the pressure will be enormous on the players.

They will hardly fall into the same trap as Kerry did in making t-shirts or songs but having never been in the position before it will be interesting to see how the weight of making history bears on the team.

Brian Cody has them well drilled and insulated for sure but to be the first side ever to achieve it would be something that would be special.

They take on a Cork side who were aiming for their own piece of history before the Cat's stole their thunder and so whoever emerges will have made their own piece of history.

Even here in Clare the pressure and weight of history on Clare U21 sides upto 2009 was incredible.

Now that the curse has been broken the pressure has been lifted and the tag of the team which won the county's first evr U21 title has lifted.

It is of course upto another side to try and repeat history and carve their own names in the record books.

N.B

The last Fact above relates to Ian Rush's record at Anfield.