Rewind the clock a year, nine months, six months, three months, even six weeks – no one could have seen this coming.
Yet within the bubbles that county players and teams exist in, the Galway and Armagh players and managers would have believed. Believed that they had it in them. That on their day they could take anyone and that the dream they had inside them could still come through.
They dare not vocalise them though. Even their nearest and dearest would tilt their heads and look at them as if to say, 'ah son, that's sweet’, in the same manner we would respond to our child as they confidently declare their future as an astronaut.
Setting aside the very real prospect of a draw, one of these teams is going to land their moonshot.
In earning their ticket for the big day, both teams have demonstrated remarkable resilience. Years of setbacks, near misses and injuries, of doubts and criticism - both internal and external - have been endured.
For me it is that back story of resilience, of stoicism, that makes this final one of the most enticing in years.
The wave of excitement that is coming out of both counties is dam-busting. All those doubts, the pent-up dreams from years of hurt have been released by those remarkable quarter-final and semi-final wins.
The wave of excitement released will crash down Clonliffe and Jones Road and out into our Mecca - Croke Park on All-Ireland final day. Willy Wonka never printed more valuable tickets, but those tickets, be it box or premium, Hogan or Hill, even the Árd Comhairle itself, are two-a-penny compared to a seat in the dressing rooms underneath those famous Hogan Stand steps.
Galway, and particularly, Armagh have demonstrated unwavering 'stickability' to get their hands on those tickets.
Take Blaine Hughes. He is having a sensational year. When Kerry pressed hard chasing the game in the semi-final, he switched on this laser and found his target with three long-range kickouts of the highest quality.
Blaine was previously Armagh’s number one and doing well. Then he got dropped and was replaced by an outfield player. There can’t be a much lower blow for a goalkeeper to take. Most would walk away. Who would argue, there’s more to life surely?
Yet after a season’s reflection when he did step away, he came back in knowing he was still likely behind Ethan Rafferty, put the head down, stuck at it and held onto the dream. Have a decent final and he’s likely to pick up an All-Star.
And what of Jarly Óg Burns? In October he had stepped away but a few weeks later he had rejoined the panel. Imagine how he would have felt today if he hadn't?
He’s been unable to nail down a starting place and is wearing number 26, that might be too much for some egos. Not him.
Burns’ impact off the bench against Kerry was crucial and his hug with McGeeney afterwards spoke volumes. What a story if he gets another winning hug from his Da on the steps of the Hogan.
That’s just a few examples. Across both teams there are multiples of players who must have felt miles away from the team or an All-Ireland yet here they are.
It is that resilience, that dedication to it that makes this final pairing one I feel strangely proud of. Proud in that both teams say so much for the nearly men, for the players and teams that dedicate themselves to something with zero guarantees of ever getting there. They have put up with all the barbs and doubts and the questions ‘why?’. No one is asking them ‘why?’ this week. They are asking them for tickets.
And what of the match itself. It’s a coin toss. Their recent engagements leave no other conclusion to draw.
It’s hard to envisage a major change in approach from either team. Galway have a strong defensive setup, hardened during the league when, shorn of so many key players, they knew they weren’t going to win shootouts. Three goals conceded across two championship seasons is a remarkable record.
Much was made about the control Galway had of the game in Sligo against Armagh up until the Galway kickout mishaps. That appearance though was more to do with Armagh’s wastefulness on the day than Galway shutting them out.
A further misreading I feel would also be that Armagh turned the game when they pushed up on kickouts. The turnaround happened from Galway mistakes on the kickout more than the Armagh press.
An Armagh press tomorrow, as many are encouraging them, would appear fool-hardy in the extreme against a Galway team who like to go long and have so much artillery out there.
There has been plenty of hope that Armagh will attack aggressively and go after the game. I can’t see it and if the team that’s named starts, it points to an approach of sticking in this game then driving for the win as their hitmen come off the bench.
To me that is absolutely the approach for Kieran McGeeney and his men to take. It’s not the romantic heroic one but their All-Ireland appearance is not based on that. It’s based on pragmatism and a painfully learned knowledge of the difference between plaudits and results.
Galway have such strengths, both defensively and particularly in their middle third engine room, yet it’s tough to see them win it all unless they get the performance from their star front men, something that has been the one thing missing to date.
The final challenge for whomever has their nose in front as they enter the home straight of this game is do they drive for the line or do they tighten up?
Galway have their Connacht titles so know how to get over the line but an All-Ireland final is very different gravy.
Armagh, on the other hand, have a habit only second to Mayo of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. It’s the ultimate final hurdle – who will grab victory when it presents itself?
To me Galway have the stronger case on paper but there is something about Armagh – they have that ‘name on the trophy’ thing. In the end, I can’t call it and that’s fine by me.
In a year of sporting goliaths in terms of competitions, our All-Ireland finals still carry an incomparable magic. The hurling final was mesmeric, almost predictably so. Despite all the game's issues, the football final has the potential to be every bit as good.
There is much wrong in the world and indeed many issues within the GAA, but it’s impossible to argue that it isn’t an amazing force for good. One that we should be thankful for and one, on days like these, we should enjoy to the fullest.
The hand of history rests on both teams’ shoulders. By the end of this, despite everything that team has come through, it will lift them up to be remembered forever as winners. Best of luck to both. I cannot wait.
Watch the All-Ireland Football Championship final, Armagh v Galway, on Sunday from 2.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to commentary on RTÉ Radio 1
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