I watched the final again tonight, the BBC version. We won again. And I finally found myself and the Younger Fella in the Cusack as the boys ran past on the lap of honour. A screenshot to beat all screenshots!
The more I watch it the more I think we were 7 or 8 points the better team on the day.
Still feeling the pride, chest still stuck out!

Good column Rob.

Some teams may copy us, but others may try to circumvent our press. I watched the Cork game back yesterday (one of the pluses of GAA+!), and As the second half progressed we squeezed the life out of them. The amount of ball Sam, David, and Enda turned over was unreal. When John Cleary looks back before we meet them in the league he may say: we’ll still win a lot of ball around midfield; why not let it in fast and keep putting pressure on their full back line? In other words press the presser.

Andy, Paddy, and Boyler will need to be alert to stay ahead. But, guess what, I have every confidence that they will!

We need to find a high fetching midfielder to back up Carney. Sure some young lad will impress throughout the club championship

Agreed Robe Green and Red, a definite priority. Jordan Flynn was more influential than I thought when I rewatched, though more for breaks and turnovers. And he made good yardage at times. But we need to win more primary possession. We won't always have that intensity we had this year so we can't always rely on stripping the ball back or scrapping for breaks.

Who knows, Ruane might make a return to form, but he's just not nearly at the level he was 6 years ago. It'd make sense for Andy to stick with youth.
I'd put my money on Bob Touhy to step up another level next year and cement his position there with Carney.

Teams may copy us but they also need a great overall set up like we currently have. It's a hard thing to get right as we well know. Look at Kerry, O'Neill gone and lots of questions being asked down there now. 'Why didn't Geaney play, why did Tom Sullivan start, where was Killian Spillane' etc etc. Some of the sheen on Jack will fade and doubts will creep in, ie is he past his best and so on. One day you're cock of the walk, the next a feather duster.

A few things could happen to us next year and it'll be intriguing either way. We could get badly dumped out early (think what we did to Donegal in 2013) or we could well build and strengthen even further. Teams like us have won a couple close together. Think Clare hurlers, Galway, Tyrone. Limerick are the template. That should be our aim. Why not? We're a top team and have been for the past 14 years. Make hay while the sun shines.

We've so much more to work with now the monkey is well and truly off the back. Everything is different now and it'll be easier to make improvements. They can relax more. Andy and his backroom team rightly have so much credit in the bank now. No one expected what he achieved, especially bringing in so much youth and them making the difference. So he can now be regarded as a top class manager. New lads will enter the 26, others may retire.

I was listening to Boylers interview again with Joe Molloy of the Indo the day after the final. Boyler several times emphasises the "small margins" that decided that match and lots of matches. And by god wasn't it was heart stopping stuff looking back. We played incredibly well in that third quarter but the misses nearly cost us. We had our foot firmly on Kerry's throat. It's understandable though, it was never going to be straightforward for Mayo to get over the line given the history and pressure. Which makes the achievement so much more incredible and praiseworthy.

I can only see this team getting better. As I said before, a perfect age-profile mix.

whats people view on wearing a White jersey in all future All Ireland finals? I would be in favour that we should always keep White as our 2nd strip from now on and in future Finals bar the exception of playing Tyrone, Kildare or Monaghan, Marc O'Se spoke on how An Gaeltacht got rid of there Green and Red jersey after losing a County Final in 2000 and changed to white and had success after.

@robe green and red, I think Tuohy has more than earned his starting place. Does a lot of the donkey work. Very young, will only get better with time. Think Thornton, Ruane and Irwin are good competition

Sorry if I'm annoying people with this request, but I promise this is the last time.
I'm trying to get a match programme from the London v Mayo, Connacht Championship match in Ruislip last April.
I'll pay for the programme and postage costs.
Email johnc_65@hotmail.co.uk
if you can help.

I would agree with liberal role in the tie. I think this win will make us stronger. Stronger in our belief and style of play. We will go at it with the same abandon but now, also with conviction that it works. Besides.... it`s the only way we know how to play. I can see more young players wanting to come in. Better attendance at club gamesetc. So - - success breeds success. Isn`t that what they say?

Re-medals.
Every player that was called into the squad by the management contributed to the all ireland final win whether thay got minuites on the field or not. Andy said on mid west yesterday that it was the subs that drove the first fifteen on to victory so they all deserve an all ireland medal. I think aldo michael plunkett should get a medal as he played against london and scored two points. Michael has given great service to mayo since as a minor in 2013.

I think it's great to see a discussion about the distribution of Celtic Cross medals to Mayo players. I can't think of a more First World problem for us to have found ourselves having. These truly are days of wonder.

I don’t think a player who steps away from a squad mid‑season should be in line for a medal. They were involved in about 14% of the championship games, while plenty of lads who never saw a minute still turned up to every training session and every match, driving standards all year. It’s unfortunate, but if you’re willing to walk away from a panel mid‑season, you’re accepting that you won’t be part of whatever success comes afterwards.

@Achill75: If we could have a white jersey á la the U21 team in 95 or the senior away jersey in 1996 I think it would be great. TBH I am not so keen on this year's final jersey from a design standpoint, but hey, maybe it's a lucky omen.

And yes, these are halcyon days, let's enjoy them!

Tonight,Reeling in the years are showing clips from '96.There were certainly "clips" and a few kicks involved.Easier to watch now.

Knottedhankie.
Definitely easier now. I’ve never watched one of those finals back, but just last week I was saying to my son that we might start watching them all together. Just feels like the pain is over.

@knottedhankie. I was watching the 1996 Reeling in the Years, and thinking the exact same thing as you and @nephin. The relief of winning just one has had so many great side impacts, like buying local newspapers for weeks after, watching the Sunday Game the night of the final and enjoying a homecoming!

Watched the game yet again today and our 2 pointers were unreal. It was so obvious of an approach, keep trying them and even if only some succeed, you are racking up the scores. The space Kerry allowed us for the 2 pointers was insane. It was as if they had not seen us kick them all year.

I think Jack Carney only had two attempts in the final. Two from two for four points.

Not that it matters now, but I was surprised that Kobe didn't take that free from outside the arc (the one Ryan took), after the perfect 45 he had hit over earlier in the half.

For the rest of our lives we will forever have the 2026 All Ireland final to talk about. Isn't that magnificent. The day we defeated, defeat itself.

They can call it reeling in the Kingdom instead of reeling in the years.

Revellino. I said that at the time and still believe Kobe should have taken it. Ryan did appear to ask Darragh if he wanted it as it was slightly to the right, but I’m convinced Kobe would have nailed it. Anyway, as you said it makes no difference now.

I thought the same at the time (close enough to where Kobe took 45)….also think Darragh was maybe carrying a few knocks/bumps at that stage too as unlike him to not grab it.

White strip has to be the away jersey from this day forth!

How could it not be?

No more blue, black, pink etc.

Yes, the white and white of Mayo from now on while we're on the road. Croker too!

White jersey as our alternative strip it has to be from here on . Mind you there is room to jazz it up a little bit more, maybe with 'go faster ' stripes on the sleeve or something,not that we could have gone Any faster on 26/07/26.

White should only be used in a colour clash. Next thing we will have a sea of white in the stands too. Our colours are and always will be green and red.

Hard to see past white as an alternative jersey for a while now. I don't think there's any debate about what Mayo's colours actually are though!

I agree with using the white as our away jersey but as 2 Hops said, it needs green and red on the sleeves and collar.

Be nice to win Sam soon in the future wearing green and red. Get that monkey of our backs as well

I've watched the match back on RTE, BBC, the one with the Midwest commentary. I'm going to see if Al Jazeera did a version. What a time to be alive..

Liam.
You could try the Kerry radio one. Some whinging about the ref on it. Didn’t mention the ref in the Tyrone or Dublin games.

TG4 also have the extended highlights up as Gaeilge at the link below.

https://www.tg4.ie/ga/player/catagoir/sport/seinn/?pid=6402286120112&title=GAA%202026&series=GAA%202026&genre=Sport&pcode=650576

Usually they play the full All-Ireland final on Christmas Day, but I'm not sure if this is scheduled this year, with them being a Galway station and all ;)

White jerseys make players look bigger.

Jesus RG&R - no more 'monkey off our backs' talk.

There's no way any self respecting monkey will ever get up on a Mayoman's back again.

Hard call having championship games at 6.30 on a Friday.
Basically means a half day off work for the away teams.
Difficult for amateur players.
Great for supporters of course.

For sure the white jersey now with a touch of red and green trim somehow as our second jersey. From commercial viewpoint it will sell strong. I seen hardly anyone in a lot of the second jerseys in the last ten years. The only popular one was the red and black which was a class overall strip with the black shorts.

Watched the BBC coverage of the match today. Definitely worth a view. Interesting stat after 15 mins, scoring efficiency was 80% for Kerry and 20% for Mayo. After 30 mins it was 50% Kerry and 50% Mayo.

Some very interesting analysis on the All-Ireland final below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaUWRat6Ku4

That is a very good analysis by Kevin Mulcahy IMNTM. It's a little bit clunky and could be edited to about 45/50 mins, but the stuff he highlights is amazing.

Think winning the All Ireland has changed so much for us Mayo people. Certainly got a spring in our step now and the congratulations from other counties especially our neighbours and also some of our keenest rivals just shows the greatness of the GAA. It is still getting lots of media coverage both directly and indirectly Only last night on Off the Ball on Newstalk a Fermanagh and Antrim lad were referring to it and saying that having seen Mayos win it would encourage them to stick playing with their own counties and try to win Tailteann Cup or Ulster title. On the colours, for me it will always be green and red but I’d have no problem with white for our alternative strip. On watching it back I have looked at Rte coverage twice BBC once and have listened to the Mid West and Radio Kerry commentary while getting the game visually . All have been very good. I have also listened to the RTE radio commentary with Padraig Lodge and Paul Flynn. It’s really excellent. Paul Flynn was getting incredibly excited and could not contain his joy at our win. The half hour on BBC after the game with Padraig O Hora and Oisin McConville etc was also excellent. Of course everything is brilliant when we win and one of the positives of social media ( and there are lots of negatives) is the enormous amount and variety of coverage there is from all over the world and from some unlikely sources. Winning the All Ireland has been every bit as good and better than I had ever imagined

I know some Rossies who brought their children to the homecoming just because of the enormity of such an event and given how rare it is in Connaught. I think it's given the whole province lift. It's been too long crossing the Shannon.

Wouldn't surprise me to see Galway push on now too. And with Horan gone to Moycullen, watch that space. The unthinkable could happen!

to win just once, where can we listen to the RTE radio commentary? thanks

James Horan always said he’d manage no other county . Maybe that might change now that we’ve won it.

Borderline I was able to google Rte radio Sunday Sport on 26 July and could listen to whole game Presume it is still available

Horan might want another go with Mayo now that the curse has been broken, no vacancy for maybe three years at least, sure he would love to manage Mayo to win Sam.

If Horan were to manage Mayo to Sam it would be unreal, but I'd say that first of all let's see how the next few years go, and secondly it will be really interesting to see which tactical pioneers come through under the new rules in that time as well. Hopefully with this massive boost the managerial landscape will evolve too

Did I just end up in a time machine back to 2018, where people are talking about bringing James Horan back to manage Mayo? Just to let ye know, I’m from 2026, and we’ve won the All-Ireland under Andy Moran and Colm Boyle.