I love myth busting. Especially in sports. There is perhaps no other arena where the lazy cliché grabs hold quite like it does in sport and it is especially gratifying to see these myths blown wide apart. We all remember Alan Hansen and his infamous “you can’t win anything with kids” line in reference to Alex Ferguson’s fledglings. That worked out well for him, didn’t it.

The GAA has its own myths too. Half-baked theories and glib comments that somehow over time become set in stone as truths. They have taken a vice like grip in many instances. We will deal with a few of these myths today.

The first of course has been this notion that in inter county football an unbridgeable chasm has opened up between the top tier teams and the rest. It isn’t true. But it has been allowed to flourish, and to flourish to a large part unchecked.

This column has shown before that the average margin of victory is in fact narrower now than it was at the start of the millennium. But hey, let’s not let facts get in the way.

Over the past half-decade especially, we have been treated to pundit after pundit, more often than not on the Sunday Game, sit in their Sunday best with contorted constipated faces bemoaning one sided games. They utter such gloomy lines as ‘we need a tiered championship’ and ‘this does neither team any good’ without anything of substance to back up their cataclysmic pronouncements.

These same pundits never offer anything in the way of serious analysis. They never show us how the gap has widened. Partly, I think, because they are too lazy too but also because even the laziest of digging into the facts will show that their argument is a house of cards.

The desire for a tiered football championship is driven by some of those who run our games. The arguments are dressed up to make it seem like they want to improve football across all counties. But if you discard the fig leaf for a moment the real motivation of increasing revenue and creating an elitist system becomes clear.

Dublin, of course, are the catalyst for all arguments of change. The boys in blue steam roll so many teams that each hammering adds to the chorus of voices calling for tiers, tiers and more tiers.

The reality is if you remove Dublin from the equation you actually have a much more even championship. Look at this year as an example if you don’t believe me. Cork, Division Three, beating Kerry. Tipperary then beating Cork. Cavan, destined for Division Three, beating Monaghan and Donegal.

And yes, I hear the cries already. “You, can’t be making arguments based around this year Bradley, sure Covid has made a balls of everything”. Well au contraire, Rodney, au contraire. This year makes the argument stronger. And leads us neatly into myth number two which states with shocking arrogance that “a shortened inter county season will spell doom”.

It, of course, wouldn’t. In fact it would lead to a glorious blossoming of the inter county game. Shortening the season will actually help teams with less resources. Counties with deep pockets and large numbers to pick from are always the winners when it comes to a longer season. The shorter season will level the playing field even more.

This should be so blatantly obvious that I am not going to waste any more ink on the argument. Myth two busted. Let’s move on.

Myth number three: “You can’t run off a championship with games one week after the other”. This particular one has always exasperated me. The Ulster Championship used to take ten weeks to run. What utter madness. A fifth of a calendar year for a knock out competition involving nine teams. The whole shooting match should take no more than five weeks.

Cavan played four weeks on the spin this year and not only deservedly beat Donegal through masterful tactics and excellent play but they also looked just as fit and fresh as Donegal in the last ten minutes. Arguably more so.

Teams can play in consecutive weeks. Not a bother to them. So let’s confine all the nonsense that says otherwise to the bin.

Now, for myth number five: “Underage success is not important”. This one has become increasingly fashionable in the last few years, and is linked to a growing distrust of development squads. Underage success is important, but it is also important to say that underage success can be measured in different ways.

My argument has always been that you have to have the right structures in place at underage level. Again, let’s look across the border to Cavan. Remember all those Ulster U21 finals they reached and won at the start of the decade? And the ultra-competitive minor teams they had?

In Cavan they made the decision that at U21 level players would prioritise U21 before senior. They built a culture, and while at senior levels there has been ups and downs over since they adopted this approach I think it is fair to say at the weekend they experienced one hell of an up!

There is no doubt in my mind that the emphasis they placed on youth and the structures they put in place and diligently stuck to, played a major part in their win.

Listen to the interviews from Tipperary players and managers after their magnificent Munster final win at the weekend. How many spoke about the focus that was placed on underage in the past decade? All of them.

Unless a county is absolutely and steadfastly committed to having underage structures that are focused on long term development instead of quick fixes then they will unlikely have tangible success at senior level.

So there you have it. Myths, myths and more myths. Busted. To quote that Peckham poet for a second time. Lovely Jubbly.