When Antrim met Cavan in the Ulster football championship semi-final last weekend, the other seven counties in the province were on their side.

Now when the Saffrons go in against Tyrone in the Ulster final on July 19, the other 30 counties in the country will be right behind them.

And that in itself is a measure of the goodwill, enthusiasm and fervour that can be generated by even a modest championship campaign.

Liam Bradley’s side have won nothing yet in trophy terms — but they have won thousands of admirers for their positivity, their flair for adventure and their sportsmanship.

In a championship season that has already been been blighted by embarrassing mismatches — Mayo v Roscommon and Dublin v Westmeath are very much cases in point here — Antrim have galvanised the Ulster scene in particular and could yet make an impact at All Ireland level.

Nothing fuels interest more than the emergence of a perennial underdog. Today, the Antrim management and players are very much in the big picture, local heroes intent on accomplishing even greater deeds.

But they evidently have their feet very much on the ground, no doubt conscious that in Tyrone they will be meeting a side well capable of effectively countering any of the tactical ploys which to date have stood them in such good stead.

Antrim’s defensive mechanism with Terry O’Neill such a key figure, their willingness to get the better of opponents in one against one situations, their ability to counter-attack with pace and composure and their sheer athleticism have been huge plus-factors so far.

But Tyrone, well versed in combating even convoluted strategies, will almost certainly come up with answers to whatever questions that Bradley’s boys ask of them.

A key area will be at half-back where Antrim have been splendidly served to date by Tony Scullion, Justin Crozier and James Loughrey and where Tyrone are particularly strong with Davy Harte, Conor Gormley and Philip Jordan operating almost as a telepathic unit.

If Harte and Jordan are permitted to be at their marauding best, then the Saffrons will encounter major problems. Should they be shackled, then Tyrone will find they have a real fight on their hands.

It is worth pointing out that Antrim have lost just once since February and that was to Sligo in the National League Division Four final. And that same Sligo came close to surprising Galway in the Connacht semi-final last Sunday.

Admittedly, the standard of opposition that Antrim met in the lower regions of the league will be in sharp contrast to what they will meet from here on in for the rest of their stay in the championship race but then they have gained considerably in confidence and authority.

I have always maintained that no team, as a rule, can dominate a championship match for the entire 70-plus minutes. But Mayo and Dublin have proved me wrong — unfortunately — following those lop-sided wins over Roscommon and Westmeath which did precisely nothing for the image of the championship season.

Nor would I hold out any great hopes that the Cork v Limerick Munster football final on Sunday will provide a keenly-contested game between two well-matched sides. It will surprise me if Cork don’t win by a very handsome margin.

That’s all in rather marked contrast to Ulster where by and large the matches have been much more competitive and entertaining.

But we are now very much at the business end of the season and the sudden-death factor will dominate through the qualifiers this month, the safety-net conspicuous by its absence.

Ironically, Antrim have still to make their acquaintance with the qualifiers. They have played in the Tommy Murphy Cup along with the other Division Four sides in recent seasons, the action totally overshadowed by the All Ireland championship proper.

Even if they lose the Ulster final, Liam Bradley’s boys will find themselves in the last round of the qualifiers — but that’s something they are particularly keen to avoid.

The carrot of claiming the Anglo-Celt Cup, thereby reaching the last eight of the All Ireland series by the most direct route is such that Antrim are gearing up to push themselves to the very limit of their endurance to write what could prove to be a glorious chapter in their history.