Dublin experienced a winning start to their All-Ireland round robin campaign yesterday, defeating Roscommon on a scoreline of 2-19 to 0-13.
It was a comfortable victory for the Leinster champions in the end, although the scoreline did flatter them slightly. Late goals from Colm Basquel and Con O'Callaghan widened the gap between the sides, with the Rossies having made things difficult for Dublin for large periods of the game.
Still, it was a comprehensive win for the Dubs as they began their defence of the Sam Maguire.
In saying that, no everyone in the Roscommon camp was convinced by the venue for yesterday's fixture.
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Roscommon boss questions decision to play Dublin game in Croke Park
Much of the conversation in the aftermath of yesterday's game has been dominated by the attendance at Croke Park.
Less than 15,000 supporters would make their way to the Jones' Road venue, leading many to question why such fixtures are being held at such a large venue.
Dublin have treated Croke Park as their home venue in the championship for a number of years, with the attendances at many of their games seemingly decreasing season on season. It has been suggested that it would be better to see those games played elsewhere, a sentiment that seems to be shared in the camp of yesterday's opponents.
Speaking after the game, Roscommon manager Davy Burke said it made absolutely no sense to play the game in Croke Park.
Tullamore, Parnell Park, I'm sure both sides would have been happy to play it anywhere, we wouldn't have minded.
This isn't a day out for us. We stayed in Castleknock Hotel last night, it probably cost us half an arm and a leg.
This isn't a day out for us, we're not the culchies coming up the road, you know that kind of way? We're here to win football games, we'll play it anywhere.
Coming out here, why is this place open today, like? It doesn't need to be open today. It could have been packed into Tullamore, packed into Parnell, packed in anywhere, you know that kind of way? There would have been a better atmosphere.
We want to be here for quarter-finals, semi-finals, we don't want to be here for dead rubbers or whatever these are, you know that kind of way?
It has been suggested in the past that other counties would relish the opportunity to play in Croke Park, a myth that has constantly been dispelled by those teams in recent years. That was the case for Roscommon once again on this occasion.
Moving these games to smaller venues would certainly help in terms of atmosphere and occasion, with very few GAA fans enthused by the prospect of a trip to a stadium that is less than a quarter full.
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