"That's one thing we know, we have to make the most of this while we have the opportunity," tells Danny Cullen.
Cullen has been hurling with Donegal for 14 years. "I started when I was 16. I was kind of seasoned by the time I was 18 or 19 and I'm well used to it at this stage."
On Saturday, Cullen and his Donegal teammates will line out at Croke Park in the Nicky Rackard Cup final against Warwickshire. It five years since they last won the hurling championship's now fourth tier.
Hurling in Donegal has rarely been in a better place. Cullen should well know - his family is steeped in it.
"My grandfather was a local primary school teacher and he was from the Gaeltacht area.
"He had a notion that two of the most Irish things you do is play hurling and speak the language. So he took them to his teaching them too and it grew from that. The club (Setanta) kind of grew out of the school then and that's about 1979. It's been progressing ever since.
"Once you grow up in a family that's into hurling you just get involved in it yourself since you're a young age. That's one thing with Donegal, the whole tradition is all family based. Your main hurlers - their parents played or else they're from hurling counties. When you're from a non-traditional county it is a lot of what your parents did and where they came from."
When Cullen first picked up a hurley, there were just three or four teams competing at under-14 level in the county - that has now grown to between 10 and 12.
We're playing hurling in a football dominated county but at the end of the day we're very passionate people up there. It's played in small pockets throughout the county and I wouldn't change anything for the world. I grew up in this sport and I just love it.
It's been hard but most of the best players in Donegal would always play for Donegal which is the key thing. There's great passion for the jersey and players do love it. We might lose the odd player to football but the majority will stick at it.
2018 has been one of his best in the Donegal jersey. Teams they would previously have considered their betters were picked off during the league. Derry, Armagh and Down were all beaten and they ran Wicklow close. "Down was probably one of the big games because we never beat them before. To take them to Letterkenny and get over the line was a very tough game and it boosted our confidence so much."
Warwickshire have been tough opposition to analyse. Donegal played a rung above them in this year's National League. Cullen's side finished mid-table in Division 2B while Warwickshire won promotion from 3A - they'll be on the same step in 2019.
"We haven't really come across them much but our manager got to a couple of the games just to see them which was good for us.
"It's very hard to know what they'll bring because they've a different influx of players different years. We just know they're all from strong counties and they've some very good hurlers who would have played inter-county.
"Their centre-back, Paul Hogan, played a few years ago for Galway, Niall McKenna from Antrim is a quality hurler too. We have a good enough insight into them."
"For me it's probably one of the best years Donegal hurling ever had," says Cullen. Winning at the weekend would make it even more special.
"It would be something big. Walking up the steps of the Hogan Stand no matter what competition it's in is a privilege to do. It's something you'd remember for the rest of your life.
"Hopefully, we can get over the line now on Saturday and get the opportunity to do that."
Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
