Exploring his dissatisfaction with the scheduling of this year's inter-county calendar, Martin Breheny lamented the mad demands being placed on players and fans alike.
With pre-season games already underway in the four provinces across both codes, Breheny described a bleak landscape of "gales, floods and power outages" where county football and hurling was being insulted, rather than played:
Crowds were small, but then that was to be expected in Christmas week. The public like to get back on the terraces but not while the remains of the Christmas turkey is still in the fridge.
It was the same last night when only the hardiest of enthusiasts turned out and, if the bitter conditions continue, the turnstiles won't be whirring next weekend either.
Uncertain whether Breheny himself braved the conditions on Wednesday night, one can be sure that he was not in Parnell Park to witness an experimental Dublin side take on Offaly in the second round of the O'Byrne Cup.
Family ties had endeared me to brave the cold weather. Factor in the estimated 3,000 others who sat and stood alongside me, and Breheny's arguement for antipathy toward these pre-season games begins to look a little flimsy however.
Whatever one's idea of Dublin's football following, to the relatively uninitiated such as myself, this was a demonstration of their ardent commitment to apparently any boys in blue.
A largely make-shift side of senior hopefuls, this was nothing like the Dublin team that laid claim to their third All-Ireland in succession only a few months ago.
With plenty of outstanding individual talent, the passing patterns were just a little less refined, the shooting just a little more wayward, the resilience, as demonstrated by Offaly's superb second-half comeback, not yet as resolute.
Yet, despite becoming so well versed in recent years to watching their county decimate all others throughout the summer months, the Dublin fans who had gathered in Parnell Park last night were incredible in their support.
Although "c'mon you boys in blue" only received one half-hearted rendition as Offaly rallied toward their equaliser, a lesser version of the same passion was there throughout.
Families, groups of teenagers, couples; the profile of the gathered supporters was as varied as you would expect in any Dublin crowd on a championship Sunday.
Breheny's "hardy enthusiasts" were there for sure, but they were not alone.
A fair demonstration of the enthusiasm that these games generate could be equally gauged at half-time.
Out on the admittedly slippery Parnell Park pitch descended a huge array of the younger fans gathered. Normality at the conclusion of any championship match anywhere other than Croke Park, the cold conditions did not dissuade the number of children present from whittling away the 15 minute break with some sporting endeavours of their own.
Having watched like everyone else Dublin's ascent over the past number of years, growing accustomed to their unwavering ability to beat the team you inevitably want to win yourself, the presence of these younger, not yet developed players similarly instilled hope that 3-in a row does not necessarily mean 4, 5, 6-in a row is a given.
While only the truly begrudging would lament what Dublin have done by way of raising the bar in recent years performance-wise, there was a sense in watching these younger players that the O'Byrne Cup (and its cohorts in Ulster, Connacht and Leinster) are the breeding ground for such feats later on down the line.
Equally intriguing was the performance of their opponents, Offaly. Unfortunate to be trailing at half-time, desperately unlucky not to have claimed a scalp by full-time, such ties pit the 30 odd players who are called upon in a position where they may decide how their inter-county year proceeds.
This game, despite facing some of the natural issues Breheny alludes to, was as fiercely competitive as any championship fixture. Singing for their supper in a sense, hard hits, audacious scoring efforts and a touch of flair were all on show throughout.
It would be remiss to overlook the fact that Breheny's claims may well take on greater credibility in other counties, where the facilities are not as accommodating, the fare on show not as pleasing to the eye, or the logistics simply too difficult for traveling fans to overcome.
Yet, it can scarcely be a lost cause the like of which Breheny portrays.
In his estimation, April and the imposed ban on inter-county activities will be the cruelest month in this unforgiving schedule. However, for many of those involved in such games, wearing the Dublin jersey, or the Offaly jersey, or indeed any inter-county jersey is indeed a "moment of greatness" that may just flicker - or, more hopefully flame.
While revising the structure to suit the needs of the plentiful most efficiently is paramount, to portray these games as the purview of only the obsessive is wrong.
There are few allusions at these games. Those gathered in the stands are there for the benefit of hopeful players. Those willing to challenge Breheny's assumption that such ties are not "conducive to the sweet art of hurling or football," are there to prove their worth as soon as the seasons shift.
Whatever about McKenna Cup fever, the O'Byrne Cup Bug takes hold of you in a big way.
