THEY come in their hundreds.
They’re noisy and colourful.
They are The Rockies fan club.
We caught up with one of the Austin Stacks fan club’s chief organisers, Kevin O’Carroll, to get a sense of the mood ahead of the hotly anticipated county final this Sunday against Mid Kerry.
“There is a great buzz around the place and a bit of jitteryness also! But if people weren’t a bit on edgy it would mean they didn’t care,” said Kevin O’Carroll, of the Austin Stacks supporters group who are hoping their team can win their 12th county crown.
The Stacks fans are well known for their march to the stadium when big games come around. The march can gather sometimes, up to 1000 people, if not more.
“In the last few years, since we started the official marches, we’re finding that people are enjoying them and talking about them as much as anything else” said Kevin.
On Sunday, the march is expected to head off at 1:30pm from Connolly Park, then make its way down Rock Street, by Kirby’s Brogue Inn and straight through town, until it hits its destination of Austin Stack Park.
“For last year’s final, we booked a train to go to Killarney. There were 1,000 fans that travelled with us and I guarantee you, there was children on it who will talk about it to their own children in 60 years time,” said Kevin.
“They won’t remember that Stacks got a hiding off Crokes, but they’ll remember the journey in,” said Kevin.
“Everyone is there for the same reason. It’s a great thing for the community and a great thing for the town,” said Kevin.
“Since the semi-final, everyone who stops and talks to you in the streets is on about the match. It doesn’t matter if they’re from Mitchel’s or Strand Road or wherever,” Kevin said.
We asked Kevin if he thought the whole town was behind the Rockies?
“Most of them probably are, in their own way, but it’s like anything else, you look at the big rivalries in sport and there will always be an element who want their rival to lose,” said Kevin.
When pressed if he would be part of that element should Kerins O’Rahilly’s get a final?
“I have to be honest, I probably would!” said Kevin.
“At the end of the day, sport isn’t the be all and end all. The most important thing is that people have a bit of craic and we’ll have a great day Sunday no matter what. Up The Rock!” said Kevin.
Scroll down for photos below and you want to see what the Rockies march looks like, this is a video of the march ahead of the 2010 final.
