Hi °C | Lo °C Round four games occupy a strange half-light in the football season.
Down and Tipperary were only 70 minutes away from playing at Croke Park, yet the attendance wasn't even near 4,000. In the league, Down never played to a crowd so small.
Seven days later, Down run out in Croke Park and everything to do with the experience will be vastly different.
James McCartan had appealed for the hardcore support to travel to Mullingar, but now the bandwagon appears. A win over Mayo will send it into overdrive.
Before Down played last weekend, there was much talk about that glaring statistic of only one winner emerging from provincial final defeat with a one-week turnaround.
Down went from winning a game against Monaghan in such dramatic circumstances, that the adrenaline must have flowed well into the following week. They then were up on blocks, in a world of preparing and tailoring their game for a solid month before the Ulster final.
With all their emotional energy tied up in one game, only to have to deal with the disappointment a heavy defeat brings and recalibrate your sights for another fixture six days later, must leave your head spinning.
That's why the win over Tipperary was so impressive and illustrated the resolve of this Down team who are often unfairly written off as flaky.
Last weekend was the end of the ‘amateur' season of the GAA. After the game in Mullingar and the hurling fixtures in Semple Stadium on Sunday, fans took to the field — some to puck a sliotar about, some to congratulate players, others just coming onto the turf because it felt right.
This weekend it all changes. Hired security firms guard the sidelines, preventing anyone from getting a jersey signed or a photo opportunity. Fans will not be able to crowd around players giving reporters their verdict of the game, but instead the post-match interviews will be conducted in an auditorium deep inside Croke Park.
The tannoy will not ring out with some Philomena Begley, but instead will belt out messages from corporate partners.
Yet that ignores the sheer thrill of watching your team jump out on Croke Park, with a full stadium and the feeling of being in the big time.
From now, the Championships go supernova. To pinch the Ulster council's marketing line, nothing will beat being there.
