Lansdowne Aviva...

I stayed up last night to watch the Republic of Ireland's first match at their 'new' Aviva Stadium. In truth, it's a much-upgraded version of their old ground, Lansdowne Road, with a new name. This selling of stadium naming rights is becoming ever more common in football and I can't say that I like it, although I realise that's just the way it is. I hope people will still refer to it as Lansdowne Road and that it can retain the reputation it enjoyed under it's former guise, as a 'tough place to come'.

The first game was a so-called 'glamour-tie' against Argentina (although the use of that term seems somewhat wasted on a bunch of sweaty footballers such as Richard Dunne, Paul Mc Shane and Damien Duff - we're not based with very handsome footballers, we Irish). Without our manager Giovanni Trapattoni (fine Irish name if ever I heard one), who was in hospital having receivedsurgery , we were flattened by 'the Argies' (as Steve Staunton kept excruciatingly calling them on Sky Sports) for the first half and went in one-down at the break. The second-half was a more encouraging display but Argentina were rarely threatened and Robbie Keane cut a frustrated figure at the end of the game in which he earned his 100th cap.

I think that it's important that in Irish football, we remember to know our place. Our history at major championship finals only really stretches from 1988 to 2002 (so far - and we did also qualify for the 1964 European Nation's Cup), and we are a country of a little more than 4-million people, although with an admittedly vast diaspora, bless our little fertile socks. If we are to qualify for the European Championships of 2012 (to be hosted jointly by Poland and Ukraine) it will only be our second qualification for the event. Yet, bizarrely, a nation expects. My hope is always that we manage to bring through at least one or two players of real quality (the likes of Dunne, Given, Duff (who hasn't scored for Ireland for four-and-a-half years..) and Robbie Keane - all sadly nearer the end of their careers than we'd like) and a good number of players who can raise their game on occasion to punch above their weight. At present, we have a good number of the latter, but are beginning to lack in the former. I was heartened to see 19-year-old Greg Cunningham come on to make his debut at left-back (a spot owned by Kevin Kilbane a little longer than is ideal) but he will probably miss out on the 25-man Manchester City squad this season as he is behind Kolarov and Bridge in the pecking order. I still feel as tough we have a decent shot at qualification, but we need one of the likes of Cunningham, Gibson, McCarthy or Sheridan to really make strides over the next season or two. It'd also be nice to see players of the quality of Stephen Ireland and Andy Reid back in a green shirt sooner rather than later. First match of the big campaign will be on September 3rd away against Armenia, a must-win match if ever there was one.

I managed to find a good old Western movie to watch last night; 'Bad Company' (1972) starring a young Jeff Bridges alongside Barry Brown. No doubt you know Jeff Bridges as 'The Dude' in 'The Big Lebowski'. If you ever feel like boring me to death, just sit around quoting that movie at me. Guaranteed success. Perhaps you're less likely to know Barry Brown, the reason being that he committed suicide only 6-years after this starring role. He played a sensitive type in the movie and the following quote shows he was probably much the same in life.

"An overdeveloped imagination is necessary to being a good actor. But left to itself alone in a room, it can take over. It's like a demon that somehow leaps out of you and starts to do things to you."

I did quite a lot of acting as a teenager and young adult and that certainly rings a few bells in the people I saw around me and, especially, those who have gone on to pursue their dreams later in life (my sister being an exception in that she s exceptionally grounded). I was never anywhere near talented enough to consider that, so I was safe in that it was always just a fun and healthy way to enjoy my youth. I guess it seems obvious that some actors are likely to be escaping (or attempting to escape) from themselves, but as a good friend of mine once said, it takes more than changing where you are or what you do to alter who you really are, or determine whether you are happy or sad. Another quote spoke of how Brown only felt truly happy when he was acting. That struck a chord with me but, in my case, it's teaching that brings me that feeling. In the classroom I know the boundaries, the rules, the plan, the procedures. I alone am responsible for determining the outcome through my preparation or how I conduct the class. Alas, that luxury is not afforded us in our daily lives. Or if it is, please tell me how and where!