Gerry Buckley on a: "Decusis mirabilis"

Start the 'tennies' (or whatever this decade will be called) as you mean to go on, I say, so why not introduce some class into the column with a Latin heading! However, with all the talk of 2009 being an 'annus horribilis' for Westmeath football at inter-county level (and it was, in any man's language), it has to be remembered that the 'noughties' as a whole were fantastic years for long-suffering maroon and white-clad fans and that a 'decusis mirabilis' ('wonderful decade' in English - I hope!) comes to an end tomorrow.Those of us old enough to recall the term 'annual outing' being given to what was very often a one-match championship 'run' may be keen to reflect on what went before. Our noughties' record in Leinster and the Qualifiers (introduced in 2001) reads: played 43, won 21, drew 4, lost 18. Contrast this with the 1950s to the 1990s inclusive and that five-decade record reads: played 77, won 22, drew 5, lost 50. Of course, the ultimate treat growing up was a trip to Croke Park to see Westmeath play a Leinster championship game in GAA headquarters and we participated in a total of 14 games in Jones' Road between 1950 and 1999, winning only twice (1969 v. Louth and a 1982 replay v. Wicklow).Conversely, we have been spoiled with championship visits to Croker in the 'noughties' (but please don't mention the most recent) with a whopping 17 games, five of which were won (including four en route to the Delaney Cup success of 2004) and three drawn (I feel my Christmas turkey repeating on me when I recall the 2001 and 2003 draws against you-know-who).So let's reflect on the many highs and the far-less-than-usual number of lows between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2009, as Brendan Hackett takes on the 'tennies' in the Westmeath bainisteoir's bib. His immediate predecessors, Brendan Lowry (reasonable improvement), Luke Dempsey (massive improvement bordering on a breakthrough), Páidí Ó Sé (massive breakthrough followed by rapid deterioration) and Tomás Ó Flatharta (yo-yoing between very good and downright unacceptable) have certainly put Lake County football on the map. However, Hackett inherits an ageing team, uncertain whether key men will be still around, with underage results in the last decade generally 'horribilis', rather than even remotely 'mirabilis'.The following are my (as always trophyless) awards for the 'noughties'.Achievement of the decade: No contest. 24 July 2004 and the Delaney Cup travels down the N4 to Mullingar amid delirious scenes. Paidí's "tough men in Westmeath" end a 120-year famine.Player of the decade: Des Dolan. Perhaps our best ever forward, certainly our best known nationwide and rightly recognised by both the International Rules and the All-Star selectors. Rory O'Connell was the most important cog in the first half of the 'noughties' but Dessie is still going. Or is he?Nemesis of the decade: Ollie Murphy. The Christmas trifle is now starting to rumble.Most memorable game of the decade: 21 July 2001 in Hyde Park. A one-point defeat of Mayo. A dramatic winning point by 1995 Tom Markham skipper, Damien Gavin, astonishingly the only noteworthy senior contribution by any of Luke's minor heroes in the 'noughties'. An All-Star slot booked by imperious midfielder, Rory O'Connell. The other 31 counties took note. Westmeath had arrived at the top table.Most forgettable game of the decade: 28 June 2009. After a 27-point league defeat to the Dubs two months earlier in Parnell Park, surely the only way was up in the championship re-match in Croke Park? Sadly, no. Another 27-point hammering in front of live television cameras was simply not acceptable. With Meath waiting to pour salt into the wounds in the Qualifiers, the hard-working Tomás Ó Flatharta's six-year association with his adopted county came to an ignominious end.Score of the decade: 6 June 2004. Paul Conway's last-gasp insurance point against Tommy Lyons' Hill 16-less Dublin side was a wonder score under pressure. A Waterford friend told me that the PA announcement of our 0-14 to 0-12 win garnered the biggest roar at his side's Munster SHC game. Now we all believed that a Leinster title was achievable. Páidí had always believed the "canister" could be won.Miss of the decade: 1 June 2003. The 'culprit' does not deserved to be named. He owes us nothing, although three more controversy-free years in the maroon and white colours would copper-fasten his greatness. And he was/is truly great.Luckiest manager of the decade: Páidí, but we deserved Brian Morley's 'point' against Offaly and other "rubs of the relic" along the way in 2004.Unluckiest manager of the decade: Luke, but Ollie Murphy should never have been allowed replicate his heartbreaking exploits in 2001 and Gary Connaughton should have been our cúlbáire by 2003.Unluckiest player of the decade: Martin Flanagan. An awesome talent, by any standards. What a pity that he and Páidí did not see eye-to-eye. The two goal chances that Dessie set up for the otherwise-excellent Denis Glennon in the All-Ireland quarter-final against Derry would have been food and drink for 'Flan'. That he will almost certainly end his career without an inter-county championship medal in any grade is a real sporting tragedy.Most underrated player of the decade: Michael Ennis. Name his bad games in the maroon and white? You see! He should have been an All-Star. John Keane had his (deserved statuette) already from 2004 and if we were getting two awards in 2008, the Ballinagore defender-cum-attacker could easily have been slotted in. We may well have retained the Under-21 All-Ireland in 2000 had he not been injured.Save(s) of the decade: 11 February 2007 in Derry. In his post-match press briefing, the defeated home manager, Paddy Crozier said he could not figure why Gary Connaughton had never been the All-Star goalkeeper after an astonishing display of goal and point-saving from the Tubberclair giant. The selectors' negligence was thankfully rectified 21 months later.Underage achievement of the decade: 16 April 2000 in O'Connor Park. Westmeath 0-7 Meath 0-6. The Leinster Under-21 title is retained. Surely senior championship wins over Meath would follow? Why did I even bother having a Christmas dinner before this article?Team of the decade: Gary Connaughton; Donal O'Donoghue, David Mitchell, John Keane; Brian Morley, Damien Healy, Derek Heavin; Rory O'Connell, David O'Shaughnessy; Fergal Wilson, Paul Conway, Michael Ennis; Denis Glennon, Martin Flanagan, Des Dolan.I started with Latin and I'll end with it. One wag in my alma mater (gee, I've Latin on the brain) thought they stood for 'quite easy done', but if you recall your old geometry theorems, they ended with the letters QED for 'quod erat demonstrandum' ie which was to be demonstrated. Yes, proof is now complete that the 'noughties' were a wonderful decade. The 'tennies' will do well to be as 'mirabilis'.Have a mirabilis New Year.