When the subject of hate mail raised its head following Eamonn Fitzmaurice's resignation as Kerry manager - the Finuge man has a box of it at home - the immediate thought was, 'Who still sends letters?'
Old lads, the type Paidí Ó Sé called 'animals for success' was the answer. An anonymous Twitter account is surely the more likely medium for the younger generation.
Kerry supporters are far from the only ones to express their displeasure in written form.
"Yeah, absolutely, in considerable amounts," former Mayo manager James Horan told Off The Ball on Tuesday evening when asked if he had received hate mail during his time as manager of the county.
After defeats – and particularly in championships – it can be very raw for some people. It can be something related to players from certain clubs that aren’t playing and there’s a club member that's disgruntled as a result.
With the forums and social media it is so easy to get messages across or get your point across but it’s a different sort of level when someone sits down and writes a letter and can write some very harsh stuff.
It is something that impacts you for sure and in Eamonn’s case as well with a young family.
Horan said that he had read the first few which came through the letterbox. Such was the level of vitriol in some, he had to get the guards involved.
"I got the police involved with some of those. I brought it to the attention of the guards and the appropriate authorities that’s really what you need to do with some of those.
"Some of them would be really concerning without going into what they were. You needed to go to the appropriate authorities with it."
Picture credit: Stephen McCarthy / SPORTSFILE
