The Out the Gap thread.

[austinstacksabu]

As I look at the clock on the laptop, the final digit switches from 5 to 6.....3.56am that is, and I've already been awake for about forty minutes.

Today I suspect I will be among the first heading out the gap for the match, with a flight out of TingTang land at 2pm via JFK to home sweet home.

And I can't sleep a wink.

The out the gap notes from all and sundry here on the board have always been the most enjoyable in my years on the board, both when I was at home and now abroad. There's something special about the trip to Croke Park and I though these posts deserved their own thread this year.

For about the last week and half I have had an image in my head of Darragh O'Se coming out towards the Hogan side of midfield, ball wrapped in his hands like he always has it - like a mother taking the washing off the line on a windy day - he's turning towards the Hill end and makes one of his long striding kicks, passing the ball about forty yards to Gooch.

Gooch rises ahead of his man and catches the ball chest high after a little two foot jump off the ground. Gooch turns towards the Hogan, does a little shimmy with the shoulders to turn towards the scoreboard, then feints right towards the Cusack before turning full on towards the Hill Goal. All that dancing has taken only a split second and now he's free of his man with space. He drives toward goal - escapes an oncoming shoulder from Noel O'Leary - he's 20 yards, 15, dummy passes to Declan O'Sullivan coming through the centre, and, BANG, sends it hard towards the bottom left hand corner, past Quirke who was going right thinking he would pass the ball to Declan.

Down on the half way line next to the Hogan, hand on hips, Darragh O'Se smiles and gives a nod toward Gooch.

Now wouldn't an image like that take you through 18 hours of planes and airport security queues. And they won't allow me bring the hang sangeches through cause of the tin foil.

Lads, I'm coming home to roar ye on. COME ON THE KINGDOM.

[kerrygold]

i wondering all right were you up early or just out late,safe journey home to the home sod,

and keep the faith,Ciarrai Abu.

[Owenabue]

Mind yourself Stacks and enjoy your holidays in Kerry.

[Walter Mitty]

hit out the gap yesterday at 3-10 local time and arrived back 4 hours later for a brief-ish stop in the mother land ...great to see that everywhere I go I take the weather with me!!!

Looking forward to the build up at home over the next week....it ll make for a mighty races

[kerrygold]

All-ireland week is magic,a great time,kerry peoples juices will be flowing all over the world at the prospect of the making the trek home over foreign soils to the kingdom and then onto the sacret sod that is croker.

[JOAN]

Enjoy your trip stacks.... I will be one of the last leaving. Fri the 14th for me crazy weekend though. Really looking forward to it. Up Kerry

[sullyschoice]

I am going to walk to croker. If I set out at about 2.15pm I should be there at about 3pm

[icon]

the alarm will go off at 05.30 sun morning not that it will be needed as most of the night will be given pondering all types of scenarios (for example corks 4 or is that 5 man midfield of the supersize me type)
just enough time to make the beef sandwiches and have the porridge
off to killarney for the train and it wont be going half fast enough for me

[Deleted]

The head is wrecked from thinking about it alreeady. The butterflies have started.

[kerrygold]

chill out man,it will be ok

[ciarrai33]

This is my last chance near a decent Lan connection (no more Work for a week!!!!, WOOHOO!),
So best of luck to the Kerry team on Sunday and God ( Dara, Gooch, etc.) willing, we will be celebrating no 35 on Sunday.

Probably wont know what sort of ticket ill get till tonight at best.

Man of the Match to go to an O' Sé from ard na bothair.
Hopefully Dara, but I think Tomás is gonna have a great final

[alonso]

for my first time outside kerry for an all ireland final i have to say its not d same no excitment even though im only an hour away from d kingdom. looking forward to friday evening and d excitment at home. does anyone else think this too

[branch]

Well, a phonecall last Friday put the shackles on me flying home for the game, required in Cleveland I was told for 8am Monday morning, so out the gap today heading from East Coast to West, and unfortunatley not the West Coast of Ireland, but the opposite direction! A 5:30am rise Sunday morning but unfortunately unlike yourself icon I will be looking
at a 7:30am throw in and not a train to the capital.

Best of luck to the lads and to everyone traveling by horse, bus, train (or plane, Stacks, JOAN etc.) to the game, agus go n'eiri and bothar libh and be safe, would love to be taking the walk to Croker after a few cold ones to calm the nerves and quieten those butterflies only to have them come to life again as I heard and felt the noise from Croker and finally have them go ballistic as the ball is throw in!

Do us proud lads, we have faith in ye, bring it home and hopefully next year I'll be making the journey for a three in a row!!

CIARRAI ABU!!!

GO ON THE KINGDOM!

[sullyschoice]

you will be jarred by breakfast time

[austinstacksabu]

Aer Bread tomorrow at 9am and then nerves for the weekend.....

Take it easy all, see ye in Gills after the game, lose, draw or win.

[luxrebel]

I will be out the gap on Sunday morning. 5.24 train to Brussels for the Aer Lingus flight at 10 o'clock.

Coming back the same day, so taxi booked for Fagans around 5 o'clock. Flight back at 6.45, hopefully make the Sunday Game at 10.30 local time.

Short time but hopefully a good time.

[Walter Mitty]

Just found out there the after party is on in Citiwest. Sure since they are going that far they might as well have it in Listowel. Some joke.

It looks like the unofficial party will have to be on in Coppers/Flannerys/Portobello!

[Deleted]

Citywest is a long way out and will turn off a lot of people for sure.

[boris]

although citywest was the county boards choice, to be fair there isn't much choice as most hotels in dublin cant take big numbers to cater for both the players function and one for the supporters at the one venue, and after the hassle last year with the sell out, at least city west wont have these problems (hopefully!! )

[Walter Mitty]

what it will mean is that probably all the younger supporters will be floating around town afterwards so it should be massive craic. thats assuming we win!

[KevinT]

To The Tune of John Denvers , Leaving on a Jet Plane

All my sandwiches are packed
Im ready to go
Im standin here outside the door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the jerseys washed
Its early morn
The quare ones waitin
Shes blowin the horn
Already Im so nervous
I could die

So pinch me and pray for me
Tell me that we’ll win today
Why do you have to drive so shaggin slow
cause Im leavin on a jet plane
Dont know when Ill be back again
Oh babe, cant wait to go

Now the time has come to get on board
Along with all the Green and Gold
I tell you now it means everything
Not long now til we drink a pint
A pint in The Gresham and Barrys hotel
When Im finished here I’ll head up Jones’Road

So pinch me and pray for me
Tell me that we’ll win today
Why do you have to drive so shaggin slow
cause Im leavin on a jet plane
Dont know when Ill be back again
Oh babe, can’t wait to go.

Theres so many times Ive been to town
So many times we’ve played this ground
I tell you now, they dont mean a thing
Its All Ireland Day, we’re playing Cork
Evry point we score, we’ll score one more
When we come back, we’ll bring back Sam Maguire

But Im leaving on a jet plane…….and out the gap.

Safe journey to ye all and best of luck to the team.
Ciarrai Abu

[Deleted]

Brilliant!

[JOAN]

taking the red eye later today direct to dublin. Looking froward to it
Ciarrai abu

[lostinmayo]

well, i'm getting ready to get the flock out of this place, thank God, the auld nerves are getting the better of me...

have the pass to go to the game, not sure of a ticket yet, the pass is harder to get than the ticket these days...

I'll probably be chatting to some of you in the Merhcant on Sat nite and then Gresham, Conways and Gills on Sunday..

Here's hoping the lads pull it off and bring Sam home for the 35th time, will be down in Kerry next week for the first time since 86 to soak up the winning feeling hopefully. They're a great bunch of players, fantastic athletes with no little skill and they have given all of us so much enjoyment and pleasure in the last decade and I am very proud to be a Kerryman no matter what happens on Sunday. Let's just hope they do it again to silence the begrudgers...

Ciarrai Abu

[noreenos]

Kevin T That was just Brilliant! Did you make that up?

[Attacking Wing Back]

Just finishing up for the week. Out the gap home to kerry. off monday and tue for celebration. Go on the kingdom

[buck02]

Finishing up now, its been a long week. Firstly I just want to wish everybody a safe trip especially those going by road over the weekend. The N7 is going to be busy!

For the 4th year in a row can I just call on all Kerry supporters to realise just how lucky they are to have an all ireland final to look forward to. Its something this generation of Kerry fans have come accustomed to, but it wasnt long ago that we werent even playing in August and we should remember those days and cherish these ones.

It doesnt seem like a year since we were getting ready to beat the hype that was Mayo, now we're going up to beat a team that have swept into an all ireland more or less under the radar.

I'm confident that the result will be the same come 4.55 on Sunday.

Ciarrai Abu

[kerryman]

Going going gone.

Cíarraí Abúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúúú

[the1theyalllove]

The longest wk ever!
Excited and nervous at the same time......i think if we click we'll do it, if some1 said to me i with 10mins to go in the 1/4 final that we'd be even playing in the final id have taken it with open arms!
If we can play like we did for the 1st 10mins in the 2nd half of the Dublin game for about 2/3s of the game we'll do it!
Up the Kingdom
See ye all in the Big Smoke!

[peig]

Well, I'll surely get the croissant and the coffee again before I board the 9.15am train from Galway tomorrow. To each and every one of you travelling, have a safe and pleasant journey. To those of you who will be watching from around the globe, keep those tonsils quivering. Hopefully I'll be a proud, hoarse and happy woman on the return leg of my journey on Sunday night.

CIARRAÍ ABÚ!!

GWAN THE KINGDOM!!