Green and Red

The day before

Posted: 24 Aug 2013 04:49 AM PDT

Photo: @SandraGanley via Twitter

So, here we are again – it's the day before yet another big day for the county at Croke Park, the seventh time we'll be appearing at HQ in the championship under James Horan's stewardship, where the prize on offer is the right to play for the big pot itself at the same venue next month. It's so easy to become blasé about our involvement in the championship at the time of year when nature's colours are turning but, you know, we shouldn't. It hasn't always been like this – under the last management, we got just two summer outings in Croke Park in four years and one of those was in the qualifiers – and it won't always be thus either. So while the ultimate destination may be the thing that's uppermost in everyone's minds – until we win the bloody thing, it is, I know, hard not to think like this – at times like this it's worth taking time out to savour the journey as well.

It's a journey that most of you clearly feel isn't going to end tomorrow either – a whopping 86% of the 383 who responded to the poll on the site (which I'm now decommissioning) have declared we're going to do it tomorrow. The bookies have us as strong favourites and so too do the pundits and the journos in today's papers. I don't have time at the minute to wade through and provide links to what's in today's dailies but I did sit down and have a leisurely read through the print version of the Irish Times earlier on and their glowing phrases about us are still pinging around my head.

Anyway, it's a Saturday with stuff to be getting on with so that's what I'm off to do now. Safe travelling to those of you who have yet to set out from the west – there's a big, big Mayo crowd on the march for this one from what I'm hearing – and sure maybe a few of you might even make it to Bowe's later on this evening.

Best of luck, by the way, to the ladies whose All-Ireland quarter-final against Kerry got underway down in Birr a few minutes ago.