OPINION: Why is nobody talking about the All-Ireland hurling final?

I think I might be coming down with something.

The doctor thinks it could be a fever of some sort, and the only cure is to get to Croke Park this weekend. But the fever isn't hurling related. I've no symptoms of gripping my hand around the leg of the table or shouting 'man and ball' at every opportunity to no-one in particular. Rather, it's a football-related illness and the only cure is to see Mayo and Dublin do battle again at headquarters. But, in case you had forgotten, a mere 24 hours after we learn Kerry's opponents on September 20th, the Liam McCarthy Cup will be lifted by the winners of the final of our national sport at the same venue. It could be a case that you don't know because the replay of the football has totally overshadowed the build-up to Kilkenny-Galway, and not forgetting Tipperary-Galway in the minor final too. So why has the game failed to capture any sort of attention or buzz this week? Henry Shefflin only lost eight games in his entire 71 game Championship career. Three of them were to Galway. The King isn't around anymore but that stat alone should tell you how much of an irritant the Tribesmen have been to Kilkenny over the years. I'd wager, however, that if you have turned on a television this week or listened to the radio, instead of wondering who will mark TJ Reid or how Kilkenny will cope if Galway go 15-on-15, it's been all about Lee Keegan and Diarmuid Connolly. Kilkenny in an All-Ireland final is not a novelty, and with that familiarity comes a sense of 'deja vu' amongst the public. That's not their fault. They are the best hurling team of all time and I'm sure neither Brian Cody nor his players could care less if three men and a dog watched them win another All-Ireland title. But the GAA should care. Last year, the champions were gone by July and that opened up the possibility for Tipperary, Kilkenny, Limerick or Cork to claim Liam McCarthy. It wasn't quite 2013's crazy summer when Clare beat Cork to upset the established order but there was enough to suggest that this season would see new sides emerge to challenge. If any dominant team keeps winning it does have a negative impact in terms of interest. Kilkenny fans may not like it but it is a fact that supporters, as well as the general public, like to see new teams lifting the silverware. They also want to see new teams in the final. It's the same with Kerry. That's why the feeling this week is that whoever emerges from Saturday night's replay will have the momentum to mow down the Kingdom later this month. The assumption is that Saturday's game will be as good, if not better than what came last Sunday. That game had everything you could desire in sport. A smidgen of violence, a dollop of controversy, a whiff of unfinished business and a large mix of skill, heart and incredible passion. All the buzzwords you would associate with hurling, just not this year. The GAA seem oblivious to the apathy surrounding Sunday's game. They appear to think that, because it is the All-Ireland final, it will promote itself among fans not from Kilkenny or Galway. It won't. It needs to be pushed, the different angles need to be examined and maximized for the most exposure. Given Kilkenny and Galway are such massive GAA counties you'd imagine the PR people at Croke Park would be thinking we need a new narrative, we need to find out a way to sell this to the public. But of course they have no fear of an empty stadium. Every single seat will be full on Sunday because of the archaic system of ticket distribution. And that means that a certain laziness creeps in to promotion of finals. No billboards, no posters, no TV ads and no radio.  Just leave it to the counties themselves and their media night and the hacks to do the work for them. But GAA journalists can't produce miracles. Media nights are only brightened up by the the chance of a free feed in Langtons or a nice trip out west for some sea air off the Atlantic. Players won't say anything, managers less so. The fact that Dublin-Mayo was such a cracking game last week meant tickets sold out in record time and the talk all week has been of touts trying to gouge genuine supporters. There has been no mention of hurling tickets being like 'gold dust' on Noreside or west of the Shannon. Even someone as combustible as Joe Brolly does the football championship a favour by being such a divisive and compelling figure. He is colour in a landscape that is becoming more and more monochrome. And that reflects the interest in the football championship. The capacity for shocks, for incidents and for discussion is greater. Sure, there are more games, and that helps. So why, then, were Richie Hogan's comments about changing the championship dismissed? This was a Hurler of the Year pleading to play more games and really give hurling fans something to get excited about. But instead his comments are now a sidenote to the culmination of the championship. Kilkenny have played just three games to reach Sunday's final. We simply don't know them, we haven't seen them tested and they haven't captured our imagination. Galway, by virtue of the backdoor, have played six. We know what Johnny Glynn thinks of Galway's critics, Jason Flynn has lit up the championship and Joe Canning is human after all. More games would mean more exposure and, on a weekend when the Irish rugby and football sides are both in action, that could not be a bad thing. Kilkenny can't be blamed for cruising through their three games but when even the best players in the country want more games, isn't it time to start listening? If there was no replay this week there's no doubt that the hurling stories would have gotten more exposure. Maybe the GAA need to look at extra-time in future semi-finals. But the lure of having two full crowds in Croke Park and an extra €3 million is too good to turn down. I hope Galway and Kilkenny produce the classic that everyone is hoping for. However, for many fans the only classic in town will take place on Saturday evening which is a real shame as that means the highlight of their summer is now being relegated to a curtain raiser.