Enda McGinley is familiar with the feelings of All-Ireland final week having experienced them three times as a player with Tyrone.
Even for the 2008 final against Kerry, which Tyrone went into as underdogs, he naturally travelled with optimism and expectation though a decade on he's sorry to say it's mostly hope now. Hope that they will play to their potential and run four-in-a-row chasing Dublin close. Anything more than that, the former midfielder can't bring himself to predict.
"My gut feeling, my fear, is that I think Tyrone will give Dublin a brilliant game and I think there will be small chances on either side that are critical to take at this level of football and I think Dublin just have those clutch players that are more likely to take them if they're given two metres of space at a critical time in a game, they're more likely to nail that point than Tyrone," said McGinley.
"So, for me, that's why I think Dublin are going to win. And my hope - and there's a lot of hope in Tyrone at the minute - but my hope is that I think we know where Dublin are at, they will come out and they will play at their level, which is a phenomenal level, but I think Tyrone is the team that can maybe produce something different.
"They can hopefully produce a level of performance that we're not expecting. And if they produce that wee bit of something different, that wee bit of a spark, then that gives them a chance.
"They need a lot of things to go for them but I certainly believe Tyrone have more of a chance than they're being given. But I still think finals are usually decided by those clutch moments and all the evidence to date suggests that Dublin have those players to deliver. In Tyrone, we're hoping that our boys can be inspired by the occasion, inspired by the cup and that they can become those players who deliver. But until they do, that logic dictates that you have to go with Dublin."
McGinley heard a rumour sweeping Tyrone that former rising star Conor McKenna, who quit GAA for Aussie Rules and Essendon, could be drafted back in for the final.
It's one of the many 'rabbit from the hat' suggestions that have been bandied about the county.
"That would be the biggest rabbit, it would be a white elephant more than a rabbit," smiled McGinley.
Another idea mooted by former captain Sean Cavanagh over the weekend is that Mickey Harte might relocate his brother Colm from defence to full-forward, to throw Dublin's defensive plans.
McGinley reckons that would be too much of a gamble given how well Cavanagh is playing as their sweeper and considering how Richard Donnelly has developed as a number 14 this year.
"The biggest talking point is Lee Brennan, whether he starts or comes in," said McGinley, an All-Ireland winner in 2003, 2005 and 2008. "I think, having saw how Donegal went and how the Monaghan game went, you would imagine that Lee Brennan is going to be saved for the bench."
Dublin's bench has consistently delivered for Dublin and closed out big games over the years though McGinley reckons Tyrone's is almost as impressive now.
"Mickey has about five or six fellas that he will turn to," said the Errigal Ciaran man, who identified Peter Harte as a key figure for Tyrone from the start.
"He has had tough battles with John Small, and Small has used every trick in the book - and some outside of the book! - to negate him. If Tyrone are to have a chance in this All-Ireland, they cannot afford to let him be negated in that way. He's done really well for Tyrone whenever he's moved up into the full-forward line. I would fancy seeing Petie Harte up there because suddenly the man marking job of John Small is less effective if you're in the full-forward position because you're traditionally man-marked in there anyhow."
The former All-Star feels that Tyrone will ultimately have to hit around 20 points to have a chance of winning, a figure previously identified by Mayo's Andy Moran as necessary to beat Dublin.
"I think 20 points would be a fair target, probably a goal as part of that just to give you that lift and that buzz," he said.
Enda McGinley has teamed up with Guinness as part of their GAA campaign 'Bound Together' which celebrates the power of the GAA to unite, celebrating the fans and their passionate commitment and connection to their local communities.
Follow the All-Ireland senior football final via our live blog on RTÉ.ie and the News Now App, watch television coverage on The Sunday Game Live, RTÉ 2, from 2.30pm or listen to exclusive national radio commentary on Sunday Sport, RTÉ Radio 1. Highlights on The Sunday Game at 9.30pm on RTÉ 2.
