The GAA brethren are blessed to have Donal O'Grady back on the sidelines, but not just because the man is one of the greatest living hurling managers. Fashionwise, O'Grady is one of the last links to sport's antiquated middle-1980s past, when the oversized stopwatch was such a technological innovation that some sporty men (and mostly boys) felt obliged to wear them as if they were medallions. They've long since disappeared from the sidelines, having been made unnecessary by the advent of tinier time-keeping devices, as well as larger digital clocks in every stadia. O'Grady, for his part, often proudly flaunted a stopwatch when he managed Cork.
O'Grady was back managing in the Munster Championship yesterday, and despite all the gadgets and gizmos and Bebos that have come and gone since the Corkman last stalked the Semple Stadium sidelines, it was refreshing to see that digital black watch dangling from his neck. What purpose it could have is a secret to O'Grady himself. You can see from the photo that he is also wearing a watch, which would seem to make the stopwatch redundant. The many clocks around Semple Stadium would have served as ample back-up should his wrist watch desert him. So - practically-speaking - why does O'Grady need that extra stopwatch hanging carelessly around his neck? Perhaps it is a link to his past managerial routine, a charm of comfort. He could have been tracking injury time. But I think the causes run deeper. Time is ultimately a reminder of death. I tend to see that stopwatch as O'Grady's own memento mori, a subtle, but conscious display of the knowledge that we can't stop time no matter how hard we try. No different than Flavor Flav's. If there is one real joy in sport, it is that it allows us to shrug off that mortal coil for an hour or two in the comfort of couches and barstools. O'Grady played his part in briefly pausing time in Thurles yesterday. The strange pleasure in doing so - for him and for us - will override the brief sting of defeat.
