I switched from my current electricity supplier to Airtricity this week. I figure if they're going to support the league in these tough financial times, then the least they deserve is to get my support in return. They say my bills will be reduced, but even if they remain the same, I might as well give them my business.
Indeed when I'm looking for DIY or household products, I always go to Woodies (Shamrock Rovers), I drive a Nissan (St Patrick’s Athletic), and if I needed a screw - stop sniggering down the back! - I would try my best to use a Fastfix (Dundalk) to fix it, bolt it and screw it.
My point is, that it's incumbent on all Airtricity League supporters to give business when practicable to club sponsors, whether that be the club’s title sponsor, or some of the subsidiary sponsors, who are putting money into the game here and deserve something in return.
Incidentally, I contacted Airtricity subsequently to tell them that when you sign up, you're offered a drop down menu on the website asking you where you heard about them and the option of ‘sponsors of the league of Ireland’ isn't offered. Hopefully that will be rectified in due course.
When we were in the production office before the programme we were bemoaning the fact that so few goals had been scored in this week’s Premier Division, but in fact when you look at the highlights of the games the goalkeepers have to take huge credit.
Barry Ryan for Galway, Richard Brush for Sligo and Peter Cherrie of Dundalk all put in man of the match performances, and you could add a few of the other goalies into the mix for making some world class saves, notably Bray's Brian Kane against UCD to see why the goals total was kept pretty low last weekend.
Ironically, after the programme we watched Man City against Wigan on the box, and the Wigan net minder made a mistake that would draw blushes from a Phoenix Park keeper - with apologies to all goalkeepers who play footy in the Park - and it was another indication of the fact that the standard here is good. Very good at times, and nothing to be embarrassed about.
Mistakes happen even at the highest level, but sometimes we have moments here that are real gems.
Barry Ryan's save from Sean O'Connor's free kick at Terryland Park on Friday night was a great example of that. In commentary, Pat Morley described it as a world class save, and in fact if you combined the free kick, right in the postage stamp from distance, along with the save, you'd have play that would grace a Champions League final.
I know the bits in between aren't always Champions League standard, but it's great to see it, when those golden moments occur, as they do on a regular basis in the league here.
I have to apologise to Colm ‘The Kid’ Foley. When he was talking about the fact that he'd loved to have played Under-21 or Under-23's for Ireland and I told him he wasn't good enough, I think I saw a slight quiver in his bottom lip.
The good news is that he was still talking to me in the pub after the programme, so I think we're still friends.
The wider debate about whether it would be a good idea for somebody with management experience here to manage the Under-21 team is an interesting one.
With so many players remaining in Ireland until a later age now, compared with years gone by, it could be argued that the manager here, whoever it might be, would be in a good position to judge which players would be good enough to play for the Ireland Under-21s.
Certainly, the results couldn't be much worse than those achieved under Don Givens. Don still has plenty to offer the FAI as a scout based in Britain, but now could be the moment to appoint someone from here to the role.
As the lads on the panel said, it would be a good way of linking the domestic game with the senior set up, and it would be another reason why people who support the league could puff out their chests, and feel proud to be an Airtricity League supporter and an Ireland supporter.
Somebody contacted our Facebook page after the programme to ask if I could stop laughing. I think the answer to that one is a negative. If somebody says something funny, then I'll laugh. It's football, it should be fun.
We're not dealing with tragedy and loss of life like those in news, or current affairs and as such I think we should try to transmit enthusiasm and the craic that's to be had in supporting a team here.
If there are others who think we should do the programme with stony serious faces on us, or vice versa, feel free to get in touch mns@rte.ie or on our facebook or twitter pages.
I took a fair slagging for the MNS crew after the programme for telling Paul Doolin to put a pound in the jar for calling it ‘The Eircom League’.
As we all know it's the Airtricity League and apparently our currency is called the Euro! Pounds, shillings and pence are a thing of the past, I'm reliably informed.
Finally, for the second week in a row, I didn't mention The League Of Ireland Football Show, which is on Radio 1 Extra every Monday at 6.30pm and is available to download as a podcast from rte.ie and through iTunes.
Dundalk's Alan Cawley and journalist Cian O'Connell joined Damien O'Meara this week.
Former Shelbourne defender Kevin Doherty chatted about his decision to retire, while Cawley revealed what it's like to have three metal plates inserted into your head to heal a fractured cheekbone.
It's a must listen for any Airtricity League fan and I promise I'll plug it on next week’s MNS!
