Having been central to so much of Kerry's success over the past decade, it must have been a wrench for Colm Cooper to not be able to come to the Kingdom's aid on the pitch as they reclaimed the All Ireland title.
And while he was delighted that his team-mates were able to do the business last month, he admits it was "tough" personally as he watched on from the sidelines all year following his cruciate ligament injury.
The Gooch was in studio with Joe and Wooly to talk about a strange 2014 which he described as a "grieving process" at times and his plans for the future.
But what did he miss most in his enforced absence?
"It was the training bit I missed the most. I was 15 or 20 yards away watching it. It wasn't the same, not being in the middle of it. There's nothing like doing a good, hard session in Killarney," he said.
After winning Sam Maguire, final goalscorer Kieran Donaghy credited the Gooch for his composed finish and Cooper explained how he persuaded his long-time team-mate to place the ball towards goal rather than blast it to Kingdom come.
The 31-year-old also spoke about playing in a pre-All Ireland final training match and whether there was even the slightest hope of playing a minute or two against Donegal.
He also revealed when he noticed that James O'Donoghue had truly joined the elites of the game.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
