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Blood, sweat and tears. Saturday's All Ireland football semi-final replay had it in buckets.
A spectacle for fans and neutrals, alike the capacity crowd at Limerick’s Gaelic Grounds heaved as the dying minutes approached and the match looked increasingly like it would slip away from Mayo’s hand and send Kerry to Croker for the final.
As the clock ticked by, one incident seemed to capture the mood - it was the sight of a solitary Mayo fan grappling with five stewards as he sought to confront the referee while a woman - believed to be his daughter - pleaded with him to calm down.
Best comment I've heard all day "Mayo should have put that pitch invader on as full forward" #dedication
— Naomh O'Donnell (@NaomhODomhnaill) August 30, 2014“@Short_Strand: Mayo pitch invader was a big lad! https://t.co/2nAhZa4z3T”. Best pitch invasion ever
— 54-46 (@wasmynumber) August 30, 2014Word is, Ireland rugby coach, Joe Schmidt making his way to Limerick to sign up Mayo pitch invader.Took 14 security to move him to sideline!
— Colm Keaveney T.D. (@Colm_Keaveney) August 30, 2014The man eventually left the field, Mayo eventually lost, but he has become a Twitter ‘star’.
The Mayo fan, later identified as Mick Barrett from Castlebar, later said he went on to the pitch as he “just wanted to know what the referee was at”.
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