Barry John Keane's Kerry career can roughly be divided into two parts. Before and after 2013. Whether there will be a third chapter, he's not quite sure.
This weekend he will follow the Kerry masses up the M7 as a fan, now reduced to a watching brief cheering on close friends as the Kingdom look to stop Dublin's quest for a slice of history.
One of manager Peter Keane's first steps in the Kerry hotseat last winter was to shake up his playing personnel. Some decisions were enforced as the likes of Kieran Donaghy, Donnchadh Walsh, Anthony Maher and Darran O'Sullivan decided their time at the elite level had come to an end.
Aged 28, Barry John had no such inclinations, but the decision was taken out of his hands, deemed surplus to requirements for the second time since making his Kerry bow nine years ago. Similar to the summer of 2013, the fleet-footed forward decided to head to Boston for a change of scenery. Out of the Kingdom bubble.
With the sun at his back he played five games in six weeks as Donegal Boston snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the senior final against a formidable McAnespies side.
Trailing by seven points with four minutes to play, they reeled off 3-01 to take the spoils, with Keane pilfering 2-01.
He shone in a team of star quality, yet there could have been a further X-factor had Diarmuid Connolly's proposed summer of football in America not been foiled by visa issues.
Last minute winner by Barry John Keane to win the Boston Championship for @DonegalBoston He sent it to me wanting the people of Ireland to see it. Reckons he'll get the call for Croker @starryboy14 @GmailMahony pic.twitter.com/6jWrBnNFEZ
— Emlyn Mulligan (@emlynmulligan) August 19, 2019
When the Kerins O'Rahilly man pitched up across the Atlantic, he was in the dark regarding Connolly's situation. He touched down to a phone buzzing with messages about the Dublin star, but was none the wiser until the club arranged for him to be picked up from the airport and brought to Canton to sign his paperwork.
A friend of Connolly's, confirmed that Connolly would not be Stateside for a second successive summer.
"We rang him the next day and had a bit of craic with him, just messing. Said we didn't need him," and Keane is genuinely pleased that Connolly is back with the Dubs, musing over how their paths have differed in 2019.
You could be forgiven for thinking Keane would have switched off from all matters Kerry entirely, but he's a self-confessed football fanatic. It wasn't just Kerry matches he sat down in early morning to watch, it was every game he could find surrounded by his new and short-term team-mates.
He enjoyed bragging rights over Tyrone's Mark Bradley after the All-Ireland semi-final, though it was a somewhat bitter-sweet experience.
"Of course you'd love to be there," he admits. "I text all the boys before the games. They are still my best friends from the nine years I was in there."
"Watching my club-mates Dave [Moran] and Tommy [Walsh], it's like I'm back on the bench, cheering them on, hoping for the best."
The bench. A familiar feeling for a player who became pigeon-holed as an impact sub.
Over eight seasons, 34 of Keane's 37 championship appearances came off the bench. It was a five-year wait for his first start and his last came against Tipperary two years ago when he was replaced at half-time.
In 40% of his substitute appearances he has been afforded 10 minutes or less to shine.
Based only on 70 minutes - Keane has twice been introduced with the clock in the red - his championship average stands at 14 and a half minutes per game. Which makes a haul of 2-37 all the more impressive.
He has been introduced for James O'Donoghue (7) more than anyone else, half a dozen times for Donnchadh Walsh and from Jack O'Connor to Eamonn Fitzmaurice, the perceived wisdom was that he was better held in reserve.
The trouble was the quality of the forward cavalry. The day Keane made his debut, the inside line of Colm Cooper, Kieran Donaghy and Bryan Sheehan took to the field with Declan O'Sullivan and Darran O'Sullivan also in the mix.
His last outing, against Galway in the Super 8s, Kerry began with a full-forward line of David Clifford, Paul Geaney and James O'Donoghue.
A crowd of 4,965 witnessed the Tralee man's championship bow at Semple Stadium in 2010, picking off two points after his late introduction in O'Connor's first game in charge.
The following year he played the final 20 minutes of the absorbing All-Ireland defeat to Dublin, but in 2012, his progress stalled somewhat. So did Kerry's. Munster was coughed up and they were collateral damage at the quarter-final stage on Donegal's march to Sam Maguire.
Looking back now, Keane believes he was content to be in the same changing room as his boyhood heroes. Too happy perhaps.
"I wasn't messing around or anything, but I could have got more out of myself."
Fitzmaurice assumed control in 2013 and decided to move in a different direction. The demotion caught him by surprise, but in the cold light of day, admits it is hard to argue with the decision.
"It was the best thing that happened to me. I needed that kick up the hole."
Barry John Keane and Colm Cooper embrace after the 2010 victory over Cork in the Munster Championshi
The 22-year-old needed to enjoy his football again and he certainly did that with Shannon Blues in Boston. The heavy-duty training sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays were not what he expected - "some county lads were struggling with it" - but the reward came at the weekends when he filled his boots in attack.
He stayed with Brian Kennedy that summer, a neighbour from back home. No one could have done more to restore Keane's confidence and footballing self-worth, with his parting words at the airport along the lines of come back next year and the team could push on further.
The sentiment was appreciated, but as far as Keane's ambitions were concerned, the only colours he was set on wearing in 2014 were the green and gold.
"I wouldn't have said that to anyone else."
O'Rahilly's won the County League and Keane's form didn't go unnoticed by Fitzmaurice. He returned to the fold determined to make a mark, even if it meant more as a finisher than a starter.
Nearly 12 months after the vow he made at Logan airport, Keane come on against Donegal in the All-Ireland final and knocked over two frees as Sam Maguire made the familiar journey back to the Kingdom.
Vindication, relief, satisfaction.
Keane kisses Sam Maguire in 2014
"I remember that day when we were going out to watch the minor final in Croke Park, someone gave a tug of my top as I made my way from the dressing room. I turned around and it was Brian."
When referee Eddie Kinsella blew his full-time whistle, Keane made a beeline for his neighbour, jumping the fence for an emotional embrace.
"He made me believe in myself."
Fitzmaurice's belief was evident when he handed Keane his first start in the Munster opener against Tipp and the drawn final against Cork. Despite three points against the Rebels, he slipped out of the team for the replay and the subsequent run to the final.
It is however the 2016 semi-final defeat to the Dubs that rankles most.
We were so close to Dublin and a few things didn't go our way, but you need that luck
After falling behind early on, Kerry reeled off 2-04 without reply to rattle the Dubs. The gripping tie was level when Keane was introduced and for the first and only time in green and gold he was operating in the half-forward line, with Ciarán Kilkenny dropping deep to keep him company.
Dublin however dug deep, with Kerry left to rue a foul by Kevin McManamon on Peter Crowley that went unnoticed.
"That loss hurt the most. We were so close to them and a few things didn't go our way, but you need that luck."
For all the expectation with a fresh crop of players and an annihilation of Cork, 2018 petered out quickly for the Kingdom. Keane's contribution was six minutes in the Super 8s defeat to Galway.
The wheels of change were soon cranking in the Kingdom.
Fitzmaurice departed, and as one Keane [Peter] arrived, another was departing.
It's almost a sense of déjà vu. Six years ago a new Kerry manager left Keane out of his plans, and watched him prosper at club level after returning from a summer in the States.
Could history repeat itself in 2020? Having only just turned 29 does he envisage a return to Kerry colours?
"I'm just parking it. I'm club captain for the first time and that's the priority. There's no point in looking ahead."
The Donegal Boston forward pleads his innocence to the referee
Keane is watching Kerry from a certain distance. Detail on training is in short supply, not that he asks, but he's happy to offer his opinion on performance to those that seek it.
It was something he appreciated as a player, a perspective from someone informed outsider the inner circle.
"When Tommy [Walsh] was away he was always on to me. Dave [Moran] did the two cruciates and he was a good man for advice."
After Paul Geaney was sent-off in the Munster final defeat to Cork, he made it his business to offer support. Keane has had his share of disappointing days at the office.
"I knew he'd be beating himself up over it. I told him to relax, that you can't be the best forward every day. He just needed one game to click. He knew that himself, but it's hard when you are stuck in the bubble."
Kerry are unlikely to have ever taken to the field in an All-Ireland final as such underdogs, but can they upset the odds on Sunday?
"It's a big ask, but Dublin need to be knocked off their perch. Kerry have a lot of inexperience, but there are a lot of guys my age too and who knows what's left in the legs or when it can be taken away?"
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