Are more and more players at inter-county level now choosing to live life rather than sacrifice so much for a slight chance of winning the ultimate prize?
Is the craic gone out of top-level hurling - especially if you're not winning or experiencing some type of victory?
I was blessed to be part of a group that were regularly challenging at the business end of the year and we firmly believed every summer we could win an All-Ireland.
We also had a nice break between championship games which allowed us to head out with the group, family and friends and enjoy ourselves.
Nowadays the only thing players can realistically do with another game coming so quick is maybe chance a pizza or taco fries. They’ll be in the following day for recovery, perhaps some video work and onto the next challenge quickly.
Then the most enjoyable part of the year for any player is obviously playing championship games. Big crowds, places buzzing, good weather (mainly), all of the things you work so hard to be ready for.
They are dream days for players. It’s the torture you have to go through to get there that might be swaying lads towards living life rather than living as a professional unpaid athlete.
More and more players are opting to travel or take a year out. It’s across the board except for those at the top of the pile. You won’t see any Limerick lads stepping away from this dream ride or even guys who are on the extended panel choosing to go to Australia rather than to Rathkeale for training.
Why? Because they know their chance of success is so high. Why would you walk away from that?
A lot of people would say it’s all about taking part and maybe up to a certain grade and age it is all about taking part, but that counts for absolutely nothing at the elite level in both codes.
The best craic comes when you are winning, have no doubt about that. It makes everything up to it so worthwhile; you’ll be willing to do it again and again to experience that high because there is no feeling like being on the pitch when the final whistle blows and your team are All-Ireland champions.
I did a bit of a world tour myself in the 2012 off-season. I stepped away from a teaching post and headed off to South America before travelling to Australia and returning via South East Asia.
I’ve been from Machu Picchu in Peru to the Iguazu Waterfalls on the Argentina-Brazil border and none of it compared to the rush when the final whistle went in Croke Park and Liam MacCarthy was ours.
Being in the shake-up for silverware every year meant I would never have considered stepping away.
There are however a majority of counties and players that must know in their heart of hearts that they won’t be walking up the steps of the Hogan Stand.
Success is relative too - for some winning a provincial title could mean the world to them and the county and this could be the incentive to keep going.
The slog cannot be underestimated. For five nights out of the seven each week from November onwards you will be putting kit into the gearbag and heading somewhere to do something whether it be on the pitch or in the gym.
Christmas can be enjoyed to a certain degree but from January until the end of the championship run it’s all consuming.
The condensed season means a night out or weekend away to let the hair down are harder to come by.
When championship starts you’ll be doing well to get to the shop for jelly snakes after a match before you’re getting ready for the next battle.
That’s the reality of it, so where is the time for fun?
Players seem to be weighing it up and a greater number than ever before are deciding to step away.
Is the fun gone out of it for spectators too?
Hurling has never been so tactical and so planned. That’s because Limerick are just so good at their process and they trust it, and by God do they have the players to execute it? The rest are trying to beat them at their own game.
The freedom side of hurling really isn’t there as much anymore and will not be until someone finds a way to stop the Treaty men.
Remember Kevin Broderick's point for Galway against Kilkenny in 2001? He soloed around 60 yards, flicked the ball over centre-back Eamon Kennedy, caught it on the hurley and fired over an iconic score.
Remember a score like that recently? No and it’s not the players fault - they’ll be hounded if they lose the ball or even attempted it.
I love hurling. It’s the greatest game in the world in my opinion, but I really do feel the enjoyment is slipping away for the majority of players and spectators alike.
Some will disagree and that’s fine too, but I find I’m going to a match now to work as a co-commentator in hope rather than in expectation of a cracker - a real cracker now – end-to-end stuff, outrageous scores, misses, mistakes.
We do get an outlier every now and then, like Limerick and Clare last year, or Westmeath shocking Wexford.
What will change it?
Nothing will change really until someone finds a way to beat the very best team. Many have tried, but nobody has succeeded really when it matters most.
And to reiterate, I am not blaming Limerick for this, merely admiring them from afar.
We thought the way to beat Kilkenny back in the day was to go man-on-man, win your ball and that’s it until Eamon O'Shea showed us how to utilise the space more.
It worked but Kilkenny learned, adapted to this and just continued winning again. Why? Because they had the players to do it.
There’s a great quote I heard when former New Zealand coach Graham Henry was asked the secret to the All Blacks’ success.
"Get yourself some bloody good players for a start anyway," he dryly replied.
You can have great plans and ideas, but if you don’t have the quality of players to carry it out you’re not going to win.
I hope hurling explodes later this year and we get a magical year of classics that we’ll all be talking about for years to come.
Watch Galway v Limerick in the Allianz Hurling League on Saturday from 1pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to updates on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
