He may not walk on water but Tyrone fans hope their hero will have at least a walk-on part next weekend reports Ian O'Riordan
God has abandoned us, and no one really cares. The Tyrone press night feels like an old alumni gathering and the players are so full of chitchat that it doesn't matter if Peter Canavan is out there somewhere walking on water. If a Kerry footballer arrived in by accident and saw such freedom of press he'd have a nervous breakdown.
But we know not the hour. Canavan makes his appearance after all. The player they call God around here gets about two feet inside the door before being assaulted by an army of microphones. The quiet words of the wise are more to be headed than the shouts of a ruler of fools (Ecclesiastes, 9:17).
Canavan is now 34, and playing with the Tyrone senior team since 1990. Over those years he's performed enough miracles on the football field to fill another chapter of the gospels, but in many ways what he has performed this season surpasses the lot.
Since captaining Tyrone to their first All-Ireland title in 2003 he's effectively had to rebuild all his strength and fitness after a serious ankle injury, and then fight his way back into the most talented and fittest football in the country.
That he's pressing for a starting place in the All-Ireland final against Kerry is just one reason why Canavan is still held in such authority whenever he speaks. Whether Tyrone actually win or not next Sunday his latest comeback has been the final testament of his greatness. And as befits his career he's delivered it across several acts.
ACT ONE - The Triumphal Entry.
When Canavan opted out of the panel at the start of the year in a last effort to regain his old form many people penned his obituary. The ankle injured sustained at the end of the 2003 championship forced him to miss almost the entire 2004 season. He made two cameo appearances, in the championship win over Galway and the defeat to Mayo, and when he played no part in Tyrone's league campaign this year he seemed as good as finished.
Then came Tyrone's championship opener against Down back on May 22nd. The sides were level 15 minutes into the second half when Canavan popped his familiar head off the bench. He scored 0-2, set up a couple more and the match-defining goal.
"To be honest, I wasn't always confident of making it back at all," he says. "Taking the time out was something I decided on myself, but I was driven on by a number of things. It's either in your blood or it's not. Football is definitely in my blood, so whenever I do decide to quit it's going to be a hard call. I love playing it, and the buzz of county football and championship football in particular.
"The second thing is the panel of players we have here at the minute. Tyrone haven't always been blessed with so many gifted footballers. So that has a big bearing on things as well. The potential that is within the squad made me so keen to get back, and happy to get back. But I didn't want to be back for the sake of it either. I wanted to have an important role to play.
"I was told back in 2003 that I mightn't fully recover. I knew back then there was a possibility I mightn't play again, but it was a chance I was prepared to take. The fact that I'm here and fit and part of the panel does give me great satisfaction.
"But Tyrone have won nothing this year, none of the big titles. There's a great buzz out of playing and competing, but there's still a hunger there as well to win an All-Ireland."
ACT TWO - Signs of the End of the Age.
On several occasions during the season Canavan's comeback was either slowed or stalled. A rib injury meant that he didn't start the Ulster final replay with Armagh, and a stomach illness meant he didn't feature in the quarter-final replay with Dublin. Ultimately, that just heightened the significance of his comeback, especially when he kicked the winning free against Armagh in the semi-final, thus setting up his third All-Ireland, after 1995 and 2003.
"That's been the most frustrating thing," he admits. "Not getting a good rattle at it. Some people seem to avoid injury no problem, but I think I'm definitely injury prone. I suppose one of the results of old age is that you are more inclined to pick up niggling injuries.
"But the routine is completely different that it was back in 1995. There was much more emphasis on the physical preparation. In recent years all the emphasis has been on ball work, and improving fitness through the use of the ball. That actually works in favour of the older players.
"And for me it's more about lifestyle management now, and being more aware about giving yourself the best possible chance to perform at the highest level. Food, drink and rest are all taken into consideration now.
"And you definitely appreciate things a little more. I suppose some of the younger players here must be thinking this is a normal thing, and they'll be playing in All-Irelands every two or three years. I know it doesn't happen like that, so they have to take the opportunity now that it's here. I know it's great being in an All-Ireland final, but I know as well that it's a bitter pill to swallow if you lose."
ACT THREE - Sin, Faith, Duty.
Despite his determination to get back to the top, Canavan still found some of the other gods conspiring against him - not least of all in the Ulster final replay with Armagh. Just a minute after being called into the action he found himself red-carded - or more specifically a scapegoat - when Ulster tempers flared up in all their glory.
Once the CDC examined the video footage it was clear Canavan had being wronged, but the day will linger nonetheless: "You just can't believe it. You know the referee has got it wrong, and that Tyrone are going to suffer as a result of this. And the team did suffer. So it's infuriating, but what can you do. You're sitting on the sideline, powerless. So I was raging, to say the least.
"I know referees make mistakes and the players do too, but I think things were starting to get out of hand, and he had to make a call. He wanted to put an end to the nonsense, but ended up making a wrong call. I thought I was getting booked, but he said I had to go, and that was it.
"It seems things have gone that way in a couple of matches, and not just against me, but the whole team. Especially the Ulster final replay. But over the course of a year you'll always get knocked down a few times, and you just can't let it get to you. The team has just trained very hard regardless of what's happened and eventually we got that bit of luck against Armagh in the semi-final which we hadn't got in previous games. That shows it does come around again if you keep plugging at it."
ACT FOUR - Welcome to the Kingdom.
Canavan may be the greatest footballer of his generation (five All Stars), but that doesn't decrease his respect for Kerry football. He was in the stands of Croke Park when they last gave Tyrone an All-Ireland final lesson in 1986, and while Tyrone have had the last say with their semi-final win in 2003, it's clear what he'll be preaching to his team-mates next Sunday.
"Ay, I remember about 10 minutes into the second half of the 1986 final some of the older people beside me were panicking, that they'd booked nowhere to stay that night. They were sure we were going to win, and would miss out on the night. But maybe some of the boys on the pitch heard them too because they get a bit complacent after that.
"So definitely Kerry are the team we've all looked up to. I know when I was a young fella it was Kerry you were watching in the majority of All-Ireland finals. They were the heroes. Sheehy and Spillane and Ó Sé. You wanted to be like them. So it's great to on the stage with them."
Canavan doesn't need to be reminded that Kerry probably hold a grudge from 2003, and if anything have adopted some of Tyrone's tactics in the meantime: "I don't even know if it is our style. But they are a harder working team now, and are more conscious of their defence than say two yearsago.
"I think you get that hurt thing any time Kerry are beaten in a championship match. But they'll be well up for Tyrone this time, and we're expecting that. And I'd like to start surely. It's an All-Ireland final and who wouldn't? I know it's a tough call for Mickey Harte to make, but either way I'm happy to be involved."
