Galway bound: Send in the crowd, I love the crowd

Mullingar on the morning of the game against Cavan was like Jones Road on an All Ireland Sunday. Colour, buzz and the tingle of anticipation.

Just the slightest frisson of nerves, perhaps an anxiety that the success up to this point had been luck. The guts the team displayed that afternoon banished all such notions.

After that win, attention turned to the next hurdle. Tuesday morning following the bank holiday. Radio turned up. Anticipation. Who do we want to get?

The consensus was that a home draw would be desirable, but why not challenge these lads even more. If you delve into the psychology of Mark McHugh, you might guess that the best draw would be against one of the top teams, but perhaps not Donegal.

The live draw on Morning Ireland, gave just that. A top team. A team that are contenders. Westmeath to take on Galway in Salthill on the weekend of 13/14 June in Round 2 of the All-Ireland Football Championship.

It’s kind of ideal, isn’t it? You want to know what it’s like to take to the road with these lads, smaller than Croker, not too far away. A journey so far that has taken them to far flung Longford, then Tullamore twice.

The first game, a slow build. Comfortably dispatching a perennial ‘also ran’ side. No flags raised, no blips on the radar. Then the stunning victory over Meath, followed up by the equally impressive success against Kildare.

Then a home game for the Dubs, but the Westmeath faithful turned that on its head. The glorious triumph against a Cavan side who shook more than one ace out of their sleeve. Now we are off to the fringe of Europe. Off to the Atlantic coast. Off on another adventure.

It will be interesting to see which throng of maroon supporters will be in dominance in Salthill. If the last few outings are anything to go by, the importance of support will be crucial.

After the Leinster final win, Ronan Wallace spoke about “emptying the tank and giving everything you have”.

It’s an imploration this team will be making to their followers. Come with us, on this journey to the west, and we promise you we will take you further than you can imagine. Wallace called the Delaney Cup final fans as “a serious crowd” adding they were “a credit” to the county.

“They’ve been unbelievable, the Meath, the Kildare game, and today. When you’re feeling a bit low on energy you just get that boost; after a score or a turnover, you just feel a lift from them. It’s just unbelievable to see their hard work, to see them spending their money, coming up here and supporting us,” he opined.

In that interview he invited the Westmeath followers behind the curtain. A glimpse into the faith they have in each other: “We’ve all got these wristbands; they just say ‘wolfpack’ and ‘game plan’. Anytime it gets tough, we just go back to the game plan.”

It’s a form of commitment. A commitment that can be seen in the games. Any notion that it was luck that has taken them this far was washed away in the deluge of the extra time against Cavan. It was the epitome of ‘the harder I work, the luckier I get’.

Back at the end of that Leinster final, Wallace spoke about that: “You can say you’re unlucky, but you make your own luck. It’s something we’ve got rid of this year. We just keep working hard.”

Now they take the next step. One they will want to take with fans who have been building in numbers with each success. Everyone is welcome. All you have to do is cheer.