"I'd always say the best bit about success is the first 10 seconds after the final whistle," says Derry footballer Brendan Rogers.
In late May, Derry tasted a victory that hadn't touched their lips in 24 years when they defeated Donegal after extra-time to claim the Ulster title. In those first 10 seconds after Sean Hurson blew his whistle, Rogers found himself standing next to clubmate Chrissy McKaigue.
"When you go through a lot together in terms of playing time, it's good to have the people around you that you know the most," says the Derry full-back.
"Then to have the crowd running on, the scenes were unbelievable. What it can do, you see the older people and kids, some of them were in tears and some were elated with joy. That's what it's about, that's what sticks out in my memory.
"I don't want to spend too much [time] on the party side of things thereafter, but they're all enjoyable too. For me, it's those immediate things after the match that really stand out. What it's done for the county of Derry thereafter, the buzz that's about the place is absolutely unreal and of course it has an impact on everyone."
29 May 2022; Brendan Rogers of Derry celebrates scoring a point in extra-time of the Ulster GAA Football Senior Championship Final between Derry and Donegal at St Tiernach's Park in Clones, Monaghan. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Rogers says the days after the final were "amazing" but they quickly got back to training. "We wanted to focus on what we were good at," he says, "and that was playing football and not getting caught up in that kind of thing. Maybe that was the experience of Rory [Gallagher] to help direct us in that way."
Prior to their 11-point Ulster quarter-final win over Tyrone, 2015 was the last time Derry had won an Ulster Championship game. It appeared days like May 29th would never arrive.
Rogers says experiences like dropping all the way down to Division 4, and rising again to Division 2, have helped with the Derry bond.
"It was a very difficult situation to be in, Division 4," he says.
"But look, to be back up a couple of divisions, we're very much glad we put in the effort, because sometimes it takes those experiences of being in tough battles and tough games when things aren't going your way to solidify as a team.
And there's a lot of players that were in those panels that are to the forefront of the team now. It's things like that that gelled us together, knowing that we've got players that have been through the hard times and obviously through the good as well. It gave us a good platform. We'll always remember those days so we enjoy the good ones a bit more.
"With this team and with the success of colleges and clubs in Derry for a long time, that success at inter-county level had to come if we put ourselves on the best foot forward.
"And with the players and the management we've got at the minute, things just clicked a bit. And as the year went on, you kind of got the feeling that we just needed to get over this first [Ulster Championship] game, get that off our back and try and get a bit of momentum, then who knows where that can take us?"
It has taken them to an All-Ireland quarter-final against Clare at Croke Park on June 25th. Some critics of Derry's counter-attacking game say the style will not work at Croke Park.
"Sometimes the opposition you play and different styles they play doesn't lend to that type of [entertaining] game, regardless of the size of the pitch," says Rogers.
"We had a more open game against Tyrone and that was very fortunate for us, it opened up and we got a lot more scores on the board.
"Against a team like Donegal, it's probably a more controlled game anyway given the nature of how teams would set up. Of course a possession based game would lend itself to being more defensive. It's probably not as entertaining as people would like, but the tactical battles in them games are far more important, and the fine margins to gain territory.
"If you look at it from a tactical aspect they're very entertaining to watch but maybe from a complete neutral's perspective it's not that enjoyable.
"I'm not really in the business of entertaining, it's about winning at the end of the day. If you want to do it in good fashion that's all well and good, but unfortunately for Derry we tried playing that style for a long time and we were at the end of some [bad] results.
"It doesn't really suit us and we found a way of being comfortable with each other and playing football regardless of the scenarios and teams we play.
"We're not too worried about how we're going to play in Croke Park. We're confident with how we play ourselves and regardless of the size of the pitch and the opposition, we'd back ourselves to manage it."
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