Even without the battle of Kerry and Tyrone to look forward to this weekend, we still have another intriguing looking All-Ireland semi-final to whet the whistle of GAA fans in the coming days.
Dublin and Mayo will face off at Croke Park on Saturday evening in what should be a hugely entertaining game.
While there had been a sense that the once fierce rivalry between these teams did not quite hold the same level of ferocity in recent teams, there is a sense that the sides may now be more well matched than they had been over the last couple of years.
Mayo's young players have looked much improved in 2021, while Dublin have not yet hit the heights that we are used to seeing from them by this stage of the championship. Kevin McStay certainly believes that the 'aura' around the team is not quite what it once was.
Speaking on the RTÉ GAA podcast, the former Roscommon manager said that Dublin are not as much of a guarantee in each game as they previously were.
I don't see the same aura of invincibility around Dublin.
Looking at their Leinster campaign, they’re not scoring as much, they’re not winning by as much. That has to be a bit of a worry.
Jim Gavin gave off a certain calmness: 'I know what’s going on here and this will all work out’. His team were massively experienced and Stephen Cluxton was the figurehead who drove the whole thing on.
And they’re gone out of the equation. No doubt Dessie (Farrell) is a excellent manager, Evan Comerford is an absolutely excellent goalkeeper, but there’s no sense of ‘This could end up 20 points if these fellas get a run on you'.
Now, in a couple of days' time we might say 'they're right back in it, it’s game on again for another title'.
The whole of Mayo is hoping that you cannot switch it on and find your form 24 hours before the big day. But every time we try to convince ourselves that Dublin might be in a bit of a dodge position, they come back and knock you for six.
We travel not without hope but things would have to fall very nicely. We'd have to break that duck of not scoring more than one goal in a championship match against Dublin.
As McStay points out, Dublin could well raise their performance levels by a couple of notches for a fixture against Mayo.
Despite this, this does feel like the first time in quite a while that there is a bit of uncertainty as to where the Sam Maguire will end up this year. That can be no bad thing for the GAA.
SEE ALSO: 'It Was Unrefereeable' - How Dublin-Mayo Became The GAA's Great Modern Rivalry
