Jeff and Kammy talk their journey to Croker

By Donagh Corby & Rob O’Halloran

Dublin’s historic 1-16 to 1-15 All-Ireland Football Final victory over Mayo captured the imagination of the biggest RTE audience of the year, but Irish people weren’t the only people enthralled by the gripping encounter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeff Stelling and Chris Kamara, the legendary faces of Sky Sports’ crown jewel Soccer Saturday, were in Croke Park for the final chapter in a web series sponsored by AIB, Jeff and Kammy’s Journey to Croker, and they were more than impressed with the sport’s showpiece.

 

Chris Kamara, who was a little late due to commitments for Sky Sports hit show Goals on Sunday, admitted that the match and the fans stunned him. “The atmosphere blew me away,” he said.

 

“I’ve been to some big games, all the world cups, all the finals that England have qualified for since I can’t remember, and you get some atmospheres.

“But yesterday, just before kick-off, that was just incredible. Me and Jeff were sat next to each other and we couldn’t hear ourselves talking, which was great!”

‘Kammy’, as he is affectionately known in sporting circles, added that he was possibly a little less educated come game day. “Jeff had all the stats… I sat next to him on Sunday and he was coming out with stat, after stat, after stat and to be fair, he did his homework.”

Jeff Stelling, the Soccer Saturday host famous for his unique style of presenting and on-air banter, said that despite trying to remain impartial, he found himself leaning toward supporting Mayo. “Unless you’ve got an allegiance to one of the two sides you are inevitably going to support the underdog.

“With everything that has happened to them [Mayo] over the years and how close they’ve been and with the way the game unfolded as well, it’s hard not to feel for them.

“There were a group of women behind us who were Mayo fans and as the match went on their screams were getting more and more desperate, and I felt for them because there were a few tears afterwards.”

One factor that impressed both men was the lack of separation between fans on opposing sides in the capacity crowd. “It’s not necessarily a criticism of soccer,” said Stelling, “but the integration of fans, there’s no segregation and there’s not a whiff of trouble, not even when your side is beaten. It was eye-opening and quite uplifting as well.”