I've always thought Thomas got a raw deal. In all the usual pre-match discussions I've had these past few weeks, I've been rehashing Doubting Tommy's infamous thought process.
He didn't deny the possibility outright; he didn't say, 'not a chance in hell,' merely commented, 'it's a fairly big jump, so I'll believe it when I see it.'
Surely, the vast majority of us sane football followers can allow ourselves this without feeling guilty of being bandwagoners? I can hear the disdain of the true supporters even as I type!
Bottom line, based on the evidence to date, Kerry should beat Tyrone. They've demonstrated an ability to play at a level that Tyrone haven't. For most of the year, Tyrone have been averaging a 6.5/10 type performance level – decent, passable.
Against Donegal, we saw an 8/10, and the excitement immediately flowed into the county, just as much as a certain fear spread around the rest.
But that was followed by a 5/10 against Mayo. And that's been the story of Tyrone this year. It's been adequate.
There are whispers, murmurs, of the potential within, like the final 10 minutes against Dublin, the final 15 minutes against Armagh, or that game against Donegal. But until we see it in full song, that's all they are: whispers and murmurs.
Of course, has Kerry's season been all that different? Well, it was certainly a step up during the National League; after all, they did win it. But since then? Not really.
Their championship performances have all been in that 6-7/10 zone – enough, but definitely not enough to convince.
Even against Armagh, down by five points after the first 43 minutes of the game, they also lost the final 10 minutes.
But then, there were THOSE 15 minutes. For 15 minutes, the beauty and horror of the modern game were played out in front of us. The beauty of a team, with space and options to torture an opponent ceaselessly and do the sort of damage that previously a whole game would have taken to inflict. The horror of a team caught in the Gaelic version of a flash flood.
Previously, tactical fouling, a little injury, or 'parking the bus' were the go-to methods to stop the flood and regain a foothold. Now, you figure out how to get control of your kick-out, or you drown.
In those glorious/terrible 15 minutes (delete depending on your allegiance), Kerry were probably the first team in the country to hit 10/10 in our new game. It was imperious from Kerry. So imperious that it distorts all attempts to weigh up the teams ahead of Sunday.
Because we've seen Kerry hit that level, it's hard not to believe in their case more so than Tyrone's. Tyrone remains a team of potential only, needing that leap of faith to believe. It feels possible, just not probable.
Kerry's injury list has to be a factor. Paudie Clifford being back is massive, but can the rest of the Kingdom collective reproduce that level again? In some ways, that's surely as big an ask as it is for Tyrone to produce their best of the year.
Tyrone are now forewarned. There's a great bonus in preparing for a team by seeing them at the very peak of their powers. It's uncomfortable and scary, but if the right players watch it, they start to feel a fizz of excitement to take it on, to rise to the challenge.
For Malachy O'Rourke (above) and his men, those 15 minutes are actually gold dust. Tyrone have the luxury Armagh didn't. Armagh would have been confident that by restricting Kerry's penchant for goals, they were unlikely to get enough. But 32 points later, without Ethan Rafferty's net being rattled, that plan lay in the gutter.
For Tyrone, minimising the goals while maintaining strong pressure everywhere is the puzzle. Goals and two-pointers are Kerry's new twin towers. Huge, relentless energy will be required to shut down both, but when Tyrone are at their best, isn't that exactly what their calling card is?
In attack, Tyrone have shown a definite tendency towards more deliberate, built-up attacks, eschewing the same degree of fast, aggressive counter-attacks that have been more common. That could be key against Kerry, a team who love to punish with fast, long-ball attacks which make the most of their talent up top and their thirst for goals. It works best on turnovers. Restricting cheap ones of those will reduce Kerry's threat, yet I still wonder if Tyrone's hidden potential might be released by greater speed in attack and willingness to get the ball in early.
Balance on this front is key, but assuming the impact substitutes remain on the bench, Tyrone will hope to repeat their trick from the Dublin game: go for control and hope to explode for home come the final 15 minutes.
Given the heat expected over the weekend, this approach makes sense from plenty of angles. Blinded by the sheer beauty of what Kerry produced last time out, it's very hard to imagine them being beaten in the next game, but that's something anyone involved with the game will have seen before.
Can Tyrone beat them and reach an unlikely All-Ireland final in Mal O'Rourke's first year? The closer the game gets, the more my belief grows. Still, I need to see it to really believe it! I'm with poor, misunderstood Thomas on that one!
Watch the All-Ireland Football Championship semi-finals with RTÉ Sport. Kerry v Tyrone on Saturday from 4.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player and Meath v Donegal on Sunday from 3.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow live blogs on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to commentaries on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Sunday Game at 10.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
