Electric Picnic was awash with blue and gold on Sunday as hundreds of Tipperary fans gathered to watch the All Ireland Hurling Final against Kilkenny at the Newstalk tent in Mindfield.
Support for Kilkenny was considerably muted in comparison to Tipp’s huge showing, which was echoed on the pitch as the team kept the Cats quiet right through the game for a final score of Kilkenny 2-20, Tipperary 2-29.
Despite their two point lead at half-time, a man in a Tipperary jersey and a cowboy hat adorned with their blue and gold was reticent: “Kilkenny are going to come out like lions in the second half” – but he needn’t have feared.
Women in mud-slathered hotpants and faces of blue and gold glitter clung to pints of Heineken while a couple, overwhelmed by love for eachother or for Tipperary ( it wasn't quite clear) jumped into the air for a roaring embrace after the second goal all but secured their position as champions.
As the final whistle blew and Tipperary were crowned All-Ireland Champions, the only word I could think to describe the scene at Stradbally is loose.
There were grown women on picnic tables singing ‘It’s a Long Way to Tipperary’, accompanied by a little girl on her father’s shoulders and a rather drunken man with a flag around his shoulders swaying back and forth with his beer belly protruding.
But aside from all the spilled glitter and beer, the jerseys and the beer bellys, the stand out element of this Electric Picnic All Ireland Final was what could be the sporting chant of the year: "TIPP! TIPP! TIPP! TIPP! TIPP!"
