After all their early spring heroics, Roscommon barely raised a whimper in their League semi-final exit yesterday.
Pessimists were already reappraising their two-point win in Killarney in February as being merely more evidence Kerry's propensity for starting Leagues slowly rather than any indicator that Roscommon were on the verge of something special.
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The giddy euphoria that spread across the county after the wins in Cork, Kerry and Donegal has abated after the final three games of their League campaign.
In their first season in Division 1 of the National League since 2003, the Rossies set one rather strange record which will surely not be matched for some time.
The Rossies played eight games in this year's League in eight different venues.
Roscommon 1-9 Monaghan 2-10
Their league opener, a narrow loss against Monaghan, was played in Kiltoom, the home of the 2013 All-Ireland club champions, St. Brigid's.
Kerry 1-9 Roscommon 0-14
The second game was that famous win against Kerry down in Killarney. Nothing strange there. Just a normal away game.
Cork 3-10 Roscommon 4-25
Their crushing, surreal win over Cork in the third game came in Pairc Ui Rinn/Flower Lodge.
Roscommon 1-12 Down 0-6
A home game next. With Hyde Park still out of action, they hoped to face Down in Kiltoom again. However, the ground was not deemed acceptable by the GAA. Odd, seeing as it had hosted the Monaghan game only a few weeks previously. Perhaps they figured that the excitement generated by the wins over Kerry and Cork would cause the Roscommon crowds to swell. They were forced to move to Pearse Park in Longford, a ground where the Stand is sinking into the ground.
Donegal 0-17 Roscommon 1-19
Another stunning win, this time up in Letterkenny against Donegal. Perhaps, less surprising, considering the home team's astonishingly poor record in Letterkenny, compared to their win-rate in their other home ground in Ballybofey.
Roscommon 1-7 Mayo 1-11
Finally, a game in Hyde Park. The referee ignored the spools and puddles of water that decorated the pitch and allowed the Mayo-Roscommon game to go ahead in the Rossies' traditional home.
Roscommon 1-12 Dublin 1-13
The war. Don't mention. Suffice to say, Pairc Sean MacDiarmada in Carrick-on-Shannon was definitely a better bet than Hyde Park. Roscommon councillor Ivan Connaughton believes the Dubs should whisht moaning.
Kerry 3-15 Roscommon 0-14
The famed 'wide open spaces' of Croke Park suited Kerry more than them anyway.
Considering that this stat was only made possible by the shambolic state of their home ground at Hyde Park, the county board may not feel inclined to crow about their well-travelled team.
