We've all heard of bogey teams. Kerry are bewitched by the sight of Down jerseys, Kildare have a noticeably poor record against Louth. But the two teams who meet today are on a different planet.
Westmeath and Meath have faced each other 22 times in the history of the championship. Meath have won 20 of these encounters. The other two were draws.
Other historically unsuccessful counties have toppled Meath in the championship - Wexford in 2008, Longford beat them twice in the 1980s ('82 and '84) but Westmeath have never won against their neighbours, not even during Westmeath's brief footballing renaissance in the early-to-mid 2000s.
In 2001, Westmeath dumped Mayo out of the championship in the qualifiers and faced Meath in the All-Ireland quarter-final. The Meath team of the nineties was still largely intact and they would enter that year's All-Ireland final as heavy favourites. Yet they allowed Westmeath a nine point lead during that quarter-final. Naturally, Meath pegged them back with Ollie Murphy rifling a goal late on. Despite being down to fourteen men for most of the replay, Meath won and marched on.
In 2003, Dessie Dolan stood over an injury time free, straight in front of the posts, to give Westmeath victory and end the curse.
He put it wide. The replay went the way replays with Meath tended to go.
Westmeath have gone further than many had tipped this year while Meath didn't exactly humiliate Wicklow at home. Could today mark a first?
As of half-time, we can inform people that it will not...
