Everyone harps on about the Tyrone club championship, to the point where you might even be tempted to tune in, just to prove that everyone has been exaggerating.
The problem is, if you tuned in last week, you would have seen that everyone was absolutely correct, and that there is no championship quite like it.
For a start, it's straight knockout, just like how championship football was intended, and this means that it is as exciting as it is cruel.
After one single match, Edendork, Dromore, Pomroy, Eglish, Gallbally, Donaghmore, Coalisland and Omagh are all eliminated from the competition.
No back doors, no group stages, no second chances, just 'sayonara, see you next year.'
As cold as this is, it meant that every single game was life or death, and the largest margin that any team lost a game by in the first round was eight points, with the majority only losing between three and one.
Flicking through last weekend in particular, here are five reasons the Tyrone championship stood out once again.
5. Risk taking
There is a perception that Tyrone play 'Puke Football' and the game is quite labrorious, safe, and slow up in the north, but in the white and red county, it couldn't be further from the truth.
Last Sunday there was a double header in Pomroy as Greencastle beat Killdress in the Intermediate championship, while Dungannon Clarkes edged out Donaghmore in headline event.
Both games ended in a similar fashion that needs to be celebrated more as Greencastle were only a point up with the clock ticking down the last minutes of injury time, when they found themselves through on goal.
At inter-county level, the expected course of action is to fist the ball over the bar, but in this case the forward shot for goal from distance, clipped the under part of the bar, and sealed the victory.
Then in the senior tie with the game all square and injury time ticking away, Dungannon Clarkes were awarded a penalty which former Tyrone star Paul Donaghy stood up to take.
The flying forward could have chipped it over the bar and still won the game, but with confidence surging through him, he buried it into the net, making it a fitting end to a great spectacle.
4. Upsets
Edendork were a heavily fancied team going into last week's championship tie against Ardboe, and when you see players like Darren McCurry, Niall Morgan, Con Kilpatrick and Ben Cullen all lining out for them, you can see why.
The fact that Conleith Gilligan, who managed to Kilcoo to an Ulster final, and was a part of the Armagh backroom team that lifted the Sam Maguire this summer, is their manager, then it's easy to see why they should be confident.
Ardboe have an array of talent as well, especially in the younger ranks, but some thought this would be a season too soon for a lot of them.
However, with the ball thrown in on a Thursday night we were treated to a great game, that saw the orange and blue side pull off a great victory, winning by five points in the end.
A lot of people would have fancied Omagh to topple their neighbours Killyclogher as well, but it was the former who ended up on the losing side, while Loughmacrory proved they are a force to eb reckoned with, after a convincing victory over Galbally.
READ HERE: Chaos In Longford SFC Over Phantom Point In Last Round Of Group Games
READ HERE: Armagh GAA Send Warning Over Bizarre 'Counterfeit' Sam Maguire Circulating In County
3. County superstars
The weekend saw some brilliant match ups as county teammates came up against each other in a clash of class, and it never disappoints.
In Errigal Ciaran's victory over Pomroy you would have seen the Canavan brothers up against former Player of the Year winner Kieran McGeary, while in Omagh's battle against Killyclogher former teammates Ronan O'Neill and Tiernan McCann would have went up against one another.
Of course this is nothing new in club championships, but the spread of current and former county players across all of the clubs is very impressive, and it isn't a case of one or two teams in particular possessing the majority of talent.
2. Incredible new talents on show
It isn't just the superstars at senior county level who are doing the business on the club scene, as young promising talent is shinning through in these matches.
Ardboe possess a handful of players from the All-Ireland u20 winning squad, including Shea O'Hare who picked up the U20 Player of the Year award, and for good reason.
However, if you were to pick on performance from the whole weekend that stood out, it would have to be Loughmacrory's Eoin McElholm against Galbally.
The teenager was the star forward in that u20 Tyrone squad, and is highly sought after by the AFL, and after watching him kick a brilliant 1-05 on Sunday, it's easy to see why.
1. Late drama
🏆Senior Football Championship
📍 At Carrickmore
35mins 2nd half
🏐 Killyclogher:2-8(14)
🏐 Omagh:0-13(13)
Sean Broderick GOA pic.twitter.com/oQ6zhsCy3p— Killyclogher GAA (@KillyclogherGAA) September 8, 2024
We already mentioned the late drama in the double header in Pomroy, but three games went right down to the wire, with only a single point separating them.
The stand-out has to be the unbelievable late goal that Killyclogher produced, to steal victory from Omagh's grasps right at the very death.
In the fifth and final minute of injury time, Killclogher found themselves two points down, and were scrambling to find a goal, as their opposition held on for dear life.
After the ball broke and spilled a couple of times, it finally found its way into the hands of Sean Broderick, who was making his championship debut, and he struck the size five O'Neill's with everything he had, and watched it soar into the back of the net.
Elation, heartbreak, and not an unbitten nail left in the county - what a championship.
