It was to be "2000's Magnificent Seven", but we just couldn't make the cut. Any way, you can't beat a bit of auld alliteration - so, in reverse order, here's "2000's Triffic 10".
10 - Mark Kinsella. Even if it isn't actually possible to give 110 per cent it doesn't stop Mark Kinsella from trying. He says the first piece of advice he received from midfield partner Roy Keane was "don't make any silly mistakes and keep your place". He didn't and he has. Inheritor of Denis Irwin's Mr Dependable crown. Deservedly voted Irish Player of the Year after a string of flawless displays.
9 - Venus Williams. With most of its stars possessing the personality of your average shop-window mannequin, tennis needs all the excitement it can get these days. Venus Williams, bless her, is doing her best to help. Fearless, powerful, menacing, thunderous, thrilling, ferocious - and that's just her backhand cross-court winners. If she could grow up a bit and be more a tad more generous towards those not blessed with her talent she'd be the real deal. Although, after her epic match against Martina Hingis at Wimbledon this year you'd almost forgive her anything.
8 - Ian Thorpe. Yes, the story of swimming these days oft appears as credible as Goldilocks and the Three Bears but Thorpe didn't leap from being an average doggy-paddler to a serialworld-record-smasher overnight - he's been awesome since he first took those big feet of his into a pool. There are no words to describe his swim in the final leg of the 4x100 metres freestyle relay at the Olympics, except, perhaps, superlative, other-worldly and dazzling.
7 - Zinedine Zidane. He's not always in the mood and occasionally looks bored rigid with his footballing lot but when his passions are stirred this lad is poetry in glorious, sumptuous, gorgeous motion (see Euro 2000). Oh Lordy, there's magic in them there feet.
6 - Padraig Harrington. If one more person commends him for the manner in which he reacted to his disqualification from the International Open in May he'll probably begin to regret being responsible for the year's most uplifting display of sportsmanship and wish he'd decked Michael Campbell with a swinging right hook. When he hangs up his clubs he would, no doubt, like to be remembered for winning a clutch of majors rather than for being golf's Mr Nice Guy but, with a bit of luck, he'll manage both. Quote of the year? "I rang all my family and it felt like, `God, I'm ringing round as if there's been a death'. There hasn't been a death, I just haven't won the tournament." Classy guy.
5 - David Beckham. Whether or not he's a footballing genius (the jury's still out) doesn't matter, what's most impressive about this fella is his continuing success in his battle with the moronic yobs that litter most of England's football grounds. They wish death on his baby and he, somehow, plays on. And if his team is 14-0 up with 60 seconds to go away to Bradford on a wet Wednesday night you'll still see him chasing back and tackling in his own penalty area like his life depended on it, mega star or not. Money can't buy that. Except, maybe, £140,000-a-week (see Barcelona)?
4 - Paula Radcliffe. Gave the most stirring, rousing performance of the Olympic Games when she heroically led the 10,000 metres final from start to almost-finish, because she knew it was the only chance she had of winning it. Then her legs abandoned her and she was run out of the medals at the death. Tell you something, there wasn't enough Kleenex in my living room at the time. A glittering, gutsy star, all the same.
3 - DJ Carey. Granted, there probably isn't room on his mantelpiece for another award, even one as prestigious as `Third in Two Thousand's Triffic Ten', but that isn't a good enough reason to omit him from our list. As Kilkenny manager Brian Cody said after the All-Ireland victory over Offaly "hurling should thank God for him". The rest of us? Well, we should thank God for sharing the same lifetime as him. Blessed to see him play.
2 - Sonya McGinn. The first Irish badminton player ever to make it to the Olympics - but that's not even a 20th of the story. Just when you feared sport had lost its soul the story of McGinn's extraordinary journey to Sydney and the sacrifices she made along the way to get there would restore your faith. She's retired now from international badminton but content in the knowledge that she fulfilled her dream. Great story, even greater character.
1 - Sonia O'Sullivan/Cathy Freeman. Okay, splitting our first prize strictly makes it "2000's Triffic 11" but it would churlish of you to point that out because our alliteration ambitions would lay in raggedy ruins. So. Sonia O'Sullivan? It's all been said, so we'll say it again: gem. Cathy Freeman? Difficult to decide which was her finest hour in Sydney - when she remained implausibly calm while the machine that was to carry the Olympic flame to the top of the stadium malfunctioned during the opening ceremony or when she magnificently carried the weight of her nation's golden hopes across the winning line in the 400 metres final. Take your pick. Either way . . . if Sonia was a gem, Cathy was a nugget. And the glint from both would have blinded ya. Thanks for the memories. Everlasting treasures.
