The thrilling provincial campaign got the crescendo it deserved last weekend.
I heard someone say the other day that we seem to be back in 2004 again. Westmeath winning Leinster, Arsenal winning the Premier League, Martin O'Neill winning titles at Celtic and Bertie Ahern being back in the news.
Perhaps that means a chap called McDonald is going to inspire Mayo all the way to an All-Ireland SFC final (where they'll come up short against Kerry)? We might hold fire on that particular prediction and see how things develop in the coming weeks.
Seeing Westmeath winning their second ever Leinster title was good for the soul. And winning it in the manner they did especially. Beating the initial favourites Meath, then turning over Kildare and Dublin in extra-time.
The celebrations from Roscommon, Westmeath and even Armagh - who won an All-Ireland very recently - underlined again the centrality of the provincial championships to the GAA summer. Far from abolishing them, we need to be creating a more tangible reward for winning them with regard to the All-Ireland series.
Although, one could argue that this campaign has proven they can stand on their own two feet, regardless of their impact on the All-Ireland series. With silverware up for grabs, everyone wanted to win over the last fortnight.
Now, the caveats.
There's a plausible argument that the teams who lost early in the provincial championships are coming into Round 1 of the All-Ireland series more primed than the provincial winner / finalists.
This is particularly acute in the case of the counties who've won provincial titles for the first time in a long time - Westmeath, Armagh and, to a lesser extent, Roscommon.
Kerry won't be delirious with excitement at winning another Munster title but the nature of their draw makes this a treacherous weekend for the champions, especially given how unusually stretched their squad is at the minute.
Jim McGuinness has had a few weeks to tune up his side for the visit to Killarney, while Kerry had to concern themselves with the Munster final against a Cork team who at least looked like they might pose a threat.
The Ulster championship is taken tremendously seriously but McGuinness and Donegal have so many Anglo-Celts won at this stage, I reckon they were able to put it in context pretty quickly and set about building for the All-Ireland campaign.
We've naturally heard very little from Donegal since their loss to Down - which makes you even more wary of what McGuinness might be cooking.
Throw in the fact that Kerry are riddled with injuries and there's no certainty on how many of them will be fit for Saturday.
Kerry rarely lose in championship in Killarney, though, tellingly, one time they did was in a fixture not unlike this, when Mayo came in off the back of a long hiatus to turn over Kerry in the opening group game in Kevin McStay's first season in 2023.
Given all those factors, I have a slight fancy for a motivated Donegal edging out Kerry this weekend. I suspect it'll be just a brief speed-wobble for Kerry.
There's more jeopardy in this format than there was in the group stage, where three teams emerged, but I would fully expect Kerry to recover to win the Round 2B game against whichever losing team they pull in that draw.
And, of course, it may not be the final time they meet this year.
Most neutrals would anticipate a home win in Galway-Kildare, though again Pádraic Joyce is dealing with injury issues. Matthew Thompson was to be getting back into gear by now but he picked up an injury in the States.
We're awaiting to find out the full extent of Cillian McDaid's injury or whether he'll be available this Saturday. He was superb in the second half of the Connacht final, turning the tide around the middle third and creating chances with his running power.
It's no coincidence that Galway lost the initiative in the Hyde when he went off injured with 10 minutes remaining.
On the plus side, the lesser spotted two-headed beast known as 'Walsh and Comer' was in fine fettle the last day out. They should have enough to overcome Kildare.
The Rossies are probably still painting murals to commemorate their Grand Slam season in Connacht - there'll be some decorative china released to mark the success.
But they have serious matters to attend to with Tyrone landing in the Hyde. Malachy O'Rourke was a very interested spectator at the Connacht decider.
Roscommon shocked Tyrone in the preliminary quarter-final in Omagh two years ago - and that was in the midst of what had been an otherwise poor season.
Tyrone's form in the league was dreadful and they didn't get near promotion. But there was enough in their display against Armagh to suggest that they could catch form yet this year. Conn Kilpatrick, in particular, was exceptional in midfield.
This one is especially hard to call. On balance, I'd lean towards Roscommon maintaining their momentum, with the backing of a home crowd behind them.
They have, to their credit, already shown they can deal with expectation this year, in the Connacht final.
Lastly, Meath got a rude awakening in the Leinster championship - one they were supposed to win according to many pundits, including this one.
But one off-day doesn't negate their excellent form across last summer and in this year's league. I gather they brought a pretty stacked team to Mayo for a challenge game in the last couple of weeks and won well.
These teams have already played twice this season. Cork edged it in Páirc Uí Rinn in the league and they'll have the benefit of familiar surroundings.
Both teams carry a big two-point threat but Meath look a more explosive team overall. I expect an angry response to their Leinster setback and I think they'll come away with the win.
Watch Galway v Kildare in the All-Ireland Football Championship first round on Saturday from 7.20pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app and listen to Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.
