The hurlers of Wexford will take the field against Dublin today in front of a home crowd more optimistic of success than in decades.
The county have not been in an All-Ireland final since they danced at the crossroads in 1996 but Davy Fitzgerald has them daring to dream once more.
"The same buzz is around," enthuses Larry O'Gorman, a Hurler of the Year in that triumph 22 years ago. "There's great expectation around the county.
"Old men who had stopped travelling over the years because we lost our way are back on the trains and buses, as well as the new, young supporters.
"So far, Davy really fits the bill and people are really happy with what's happening and encouraged by the effort and commitment of the players."
In his first season last year, the Clare native led the team to an unexpected League promotion and three victories over old rivals Kilkenny, including a first in the Leinster Championship in 14 years. The subsequent provincial final defeat to eventual All-Ireland champions Galway and quarter-final exit to Waterford dampened Davy fever only slightly.
Wexford comfortably retained their Division 1A status in spring, and despite two defeats to Kilkenny in the League are among the teams tipped to challenge in the new-look Leinster Championship.
Davy Fitzgerald has been welcomed in the hurling mad South East
"Even after the League semi-final defeat against Kilkenny, the county is still very much with Davy and with the lads," says Wexford-based journalist Ronan Fagan. "It was a little bit of a reality check but people believe they will come back.
"Some supporters are still waiting to be convinced, and especially after what Dublin did against Kilkenny, they will set off tentatively, but from day one Davy has been asking people to stay with it."
Wexford have been tipped as a coming force since winning three Leinster U21 titles in a row from 2013-2015, sides that heralded the arrival of the likes of Lee Chin and Conor McDonald. The wait for an All-Ireland semi-final place goes on but what has changed since Fitzgerald succeeded Liam Dunne a year and a half ago?
He has the players playing for him. He's been a revelation
"Man management," says Fagan. "He has the players playing for him. He's been a revelation."
"I think the attitude of players has changed," agrees O'Gorman. "Nothing against Liam Dunne or anyone else who has been in charge but the pride and energy Davy brings, our players thought it was great.
"He was told 'These guys have the ability, they just don't know how to get over the final hurdle.'
"He has them disciplined, on the ball, even cleaning up the dressing rooms after training. Players want to be on the team because we're on a bit of a roll."
For forward David Dunne, Fitzgerald's key achievement has been to convince the players that they belong among hurling's elite.
"The training and all is the same as what everyone is doing I think," he offers. "I think it's just passion and the self-belief that he gives to everyone. It fills everyone with massive confidence and lets you know that you're well able to be there and be with the best.
"We've taken a lot from that and we've gotten a lot of self-confidence over the last two seasons, and we're just happy to push on now and hopefully keep going in the right direction."
Fitzgerald has instilled discipline in the Wexford panel
Born and still resident in the town of Sixmilebridge, not far from the Limerick border, Fitzgerald was on the Clare minor team by the age of 15.
He was an inter-county senior at 18 in 1990 and one of the linchpins of the Ger Loughnane era that ended the Banner's 81-year wait for Liam MacCarthy in 1995 and repeated the trick in '97.
One of the familiar sights of that time was Fitzgerald tearing back towards his goal having driven a penalty to the back of the opposition net, which he did for the first time in the Championship in the Munster final victory over Limerick in '95.
Fitzgerald (in blue) was a key member of Ger Loughnane's revolutionary Clare team
By the time he called it a day between the sticks with Clare in 2008, Davy had amassed two Celtic crosses, three Munster titles and three All-Star awards.
His club career with 'The Bridge' was just as productive, yielding six county crowns, two Munsters and an All-Ireland.
He had an interest in coaching from an early age, taking charge of club underage teams at just 17 and claimed a first national title as a manager when leading Limerick IT to their maiden Fitzgibbon Cup success in 2005. He remains involved with the college team as their 'Director of Hurling'.
Fitzgerald bagged another Fitzgibbon in 2007, a year he spent away from the Clare panel after falling out with new manager Tony Considine, and a serious finger injury sustained in a club game that October meant an attempted comeback the following spring was short-lived.
He wouldn't be idle long though. In Waterford, Justin McCarthy's seven-year reign was coming to an abrupt end after a Munster quarter-final defeat to Clare sparked a player revolt. The 36-year-old Davy was a surprise choice to take the reins.
In his first inter-county management role, he led the Deise to the All-Ireland decider.
Waterford linchpin Ken McGrath was impressed by the rookie Fitzgerald's enthusiasm
"Justin was a great manager and trainer but things had gone stale," recalls three-time All-Star Ken McGrath.
"Davy came in and everything was at pace. I remember the first night, there were hundreds of balls in training moving everywhere. There were dieticians and sports psychologists brought in. The whole thing was ramped up.
"He brought great enthusiasm straight away. We needed something to kickstart us,and he came in like a whirlwind and got us to the All-Ireland final. Unfortunately, we got a hammering off Kilkenny but it was a mad summer."
McGrath highlights Fitzgerald's "belief in himself" as key to his success as a manager.
"In 2008, he was young and we had all been playing against him but he had great confidence. There was a bit of a swagger about him and charisma and he still has that.
"He's the boss.He's obsessed with it. When he's into something, he's into it 100% and you can't ask for more than that really.
"Taking Wexford on, he probably felt 'there are good hurlers down here and they're not performing as they should. I'll have a go off these fellas'.
"They all bought into it straight away and they're craving for success. He seems to have them all eating out of the palm of his hand. He's a great leader that way, he'll get the whole place behind him.
Under Fitzgerald, Waterford reached four All-Ireland semi-finals in four years but couldn't make the breakthrough at a time when the Tipperary-Kilkenny rivalry was at its peak. Upon his departure in 2011, he quickly took over his native Clare and led a young side to All-Ireland glory in just his second season in charge.
He leaves no stone unturned and looks at all the players' individual needs and tries to cater for them as best he can
"He brought a level of professionalism to the setup. It was completely different," says Brendan Bugler, an All-Star wing-back on the 2013 Championship-winning team.
"He likes to bring in a big backroom team with him. The number of people he brought in was far more substantial than any other manager I'd worked under before.
"He leaves no stone unturned and looks at all the players' individual needs and tries to cater for them as best he can. If he needs to bring in more people to do that he will.
"He devotes his life to the game. He's an inspirational character who would get you up for a game and he'd also be a deep thinker."
Fitzgerald has developed a reputation as an innovative tactician and proponent of the 'sweeper' system, which involves having a spare defender rather than the traditional 6:6 balance of defenders and forwards.
It's not to everyone's taste but for Ken McGrath, the likes of Clare, Waterford and Wexford can't afford to turn their nose up at any tactics that could make them contenders.
"We were always a free-flowing team, liable to do anything at times but always good to watch, and he put more of a structure in," he says.
Bugler and Fitzgerald enjoyed some huge wins with Clare
"We didn't go long as much and became a lot more defensive minded. A lot of the carefree hurling we played over the years was gone.
"But he had to try something different. Even though we had played such good hurling for five or six years, we didn't win the All-Ireland. A new manager was entitled to do what he wanted to do.
"He stuck to what he believed in and over the years he really developed it. With the Clare team of 2013, there were bits of that he used with us, the tackling and defensive stuff, but he expanded on it as the years went on. He's a sponge for taking stuff in."
Bugler believes Fitzgerald's game plan with Clare was more nuanced than he's given credit for, as evinced in ditching the defensive approach to outgun Cork in a final remembered best for Shane O'Donnell's replay hat-trick.
"When he came on board initially there was no talk of game plans, he just wanted us to express ourselves," remembers the Whitegate man.
"In 2013, we only played a sweeper in two games all year, the All-Ireland quarter-final and semi-final, because he felt that was the best way we could go about beating Galway and Limerick.
"In the years since he has begun to think more about the game. He's constantly changing that system. The way the players around the sweeper are playing is a lot different."
Fitzgerald faced Brian Cody in an All-Ireland final in his first year in charge of Waterford
Shaun Murphy was employed as the spare man back last year but those on the ground in Wexford insist that the system has evolved to allow the half-backs roam forward.
"I think we're hurling with a serious amount of freedom," argues Conor McDonald. "People are only starting to realise how attacking we can be.
"Diarmuid O'Keeffe scored in every league and championship game from wing back last year which was unheard of in previous seasons. If that doesn't scream out freedom in play then I'm not sure what does."
Larry O'Gorman pleads for patience to see whether the ends justify the means: "People were asking whether Davy's system would suit Wexford. It took a while for everyone to tune into it but last year we did quite well.
"It has got Waterford to an All-Ireland final. The system can work but you have to stick with it."
1996 ALl-Ireland winner Larry O'Gorman wants Fitzgerald to be given time and space
Fitzgerald is a self-confessed 'fiery' character. A quick search on YouTube throws up expletive-ridden half-time team talks and a sideline retort while in charge of Clare against his old Waterford charges: "I've two All-Irelands and you've f*** all.
A player on an underage side in his early management days recalls being frozen in shock after being told not to "ever call for the f***ing ball when you're not moving."
He's had his share of sideline showdowns and isn't shy on speaking out when he feels he or his team have been unfairly criticised – as Brian Cody, Michael Duignan and Tony Considine can attest.
An ill-advised on-pitch confrontation with Tipperary's Jason Forde in last year's League semi-final led to an eight-week ban for Fitzgerald and two games for Forde, later reduced to one. Fitzgerald accepted responsibility for the minor scuffle and offered to speak in the player's defence.
Beyond the Gift Grub caricature of the small angry man, however, is a hurling obsessive who perhaps just cares more than most.
Enough to take his place on the sideline for a the 2016 All-Ireland quarter-final against Galway only four days after undergoing minor heart surgery. It turned out to be his final game with Clare.
He learned a lot from '08. I'd say the Davy then and now are worlds apart
"He's passionate and he likes to express it on the line, to try and rally on his players," says Bugler. "He's not putting that on for the cameras. He's been like that whatever team he has been involved with.
"At training he might rev it up a notch but obviously when he's talking to you one on one, he's not roaring or shouting at you."
Ken McGrath occasionally clashed with Fitzgerald in Waterford but says there was no lasting ill-will.
"We got on well but I would have had my disagreements with him," he says. "I felt that there should have been different ways of playing and that I should have been playing.
"I was coming towards the end of my career. I wasn't going too well with injuries in '09 and '10. In 2010, I got a couple of minutes in the Munster final replay and I was devastated.
"But looking back, I probably wasn't playing well enough or getting a consistent run in training. He was probably right not to play me. He was fair enough and I don't think he ever held grudges.
"He learned a lot from '08. I'd say the Davy then and now are worlds apart. The experience he got with us and Clare, not too many managers have that kind of success."
This clash with Tipperary's Jason Forde earned Fitzgerald an eight-week ban
In 2015, Davy O'Halloran and Nicky O'Connell left the Clare panel, with O'Halloran claiming the pair had been "humiliated" by being suspended from team activities after an alleged breach of discipline and that "lads are too scared to stand up to" Fitzgerald. O'Connell later rejoined the panel after apologising.
"The night Davy was announced I was full of trepidation because we had heard stories of him in Clare," admits Ronan Fagan. "He has been absolutely the reverse.
"When he wants to lash the tongue he does but he's a players' man. I think he has learned the error of his ways."
John Mullane once likened Fitzgerald to soccer manager Jose Mourinho in that he "will come in for three years max and get results".
The statistics bear that out - the high points in his time in charge of Waterford and Clare were the first and second seasons respectively.
Mullane was being complimentary, he also called the Clare man "a natural born-winner", but the perception remains that the intensity of his approach is not sustainable in the long term.
Fitzgerald enjoyed success with his native county but drew criticism for his approach
"He'll come in and have mad ideas and have an entourage with him and it will be a mad burst for a couple of years," says McGrath. "Everyone will row in and it's 100%. It's probably seven or eight times a week training, whether you're doing weights or video analysis.
"There's only so long you can keep that going. You can't sustain intensity unless you're backing it up with trophies. Players will start dropping off or questioning things.
"When Davy came in in '08 we got a huge lift and got to the final. In '09, the team wasn't exactly on its last legs but we weren't as good as we were before. In 2010 we won a Munster championship but weren't as entertaining. 2011 was his last year.
"This is a huge year for him to push on with Wexford and get a bit of silverware. If he gets that, he'll have the lads again for this. When he came in with us, some of our lads had All-Stars, Munster and National League medals. It's a bit different with Wexford, they're mad for any kind of success."
But what would constitute success for Wexford this year? A first Leinster title since 2004? A first semi-final appearance since '07? Or should they be aiming their sights even higher?
"Winning a Leinster final," states O'Gorman categorically. "Though it's a lot harder these days because Galway are in there too.
"Some people will have their doubts and ask whether the time and money that goes into it is worth it, if you're only getting to League semi-finals. Championship is what it boils down to.
"All efforts have to go into beating Dublin because if not, it could be a dull summer, and not just the weather."
Wexford supporters are gearing up for a long summer
Wexford chairman Derek Kent has similar, if slightly more cautious, ambitions.
"We didn't win anything last year. We got promoted," he says. "We're more than happy to stay in Division 1A. Of course we want more but it's a building block.
"Getting to a Leinster final would be a major achievement under the new format. And I'd be even happier if we could go another step or two onwards."
Given Davy's reticence to commit to more than one year at a time with the Model men, holding on to their new messiah might be dependent on the team's progress this summer.
"There's a lot of travelling involved and effort put into it from his point of view. If you don't get results, you might question yourself," suggests Larry O'Gorman.
Kent would be the man in charge of persuading Davy to stay on and he is convinced that glory and a grá for hurling is a far bigger motivation than mileage.
"He loves the people of Wexford and we have great time for him.
"He's able to gather support with his passion for the game, the belief he has in the hurlers of Wexford and the commitment he gives by driving to Wexford two or three times a week, on a six-hour return trip.
"He doesn't come to Wexford for money. There is no money. He comes to Wexford for the love of hurling.
"He's doing a lot of driving from Clare. The third year would take its toll. But that's up to Davy and his family.
"I think a third year would be a great thing for Wexford. Hopefully we'll have a good year and he'll discuss staying with Wexford."
Forget the royal wedding, Davy and Wexford is the real love story of the summer. Today should give us some indication of whether it will all end in heartbreak or happily ever after.
Follow Wexford v Dublin, Kilkenny v Offaly, Limerick v Tipperary and Cork v Clare this Sunday via our live blog on RTÉ.ie and the News Now App from 1.30pm, watch live and exclusive TV coverage of the Munster SHC on RTÉ2 or listen to exclusive radio commentary on RTÉ Radio 1.
