DESPITE the wonderful memories of the All Ireland wins, those of the defeats never dissipate. The vision of my Daddy and brother arriving home with the Tyrone flag over the shoulder, tails between their legs after the All-Ireland semi-final in 1989 is one that I can't get out of my head when it comes to playing Mayo.
We have yet to beat Mayo in the championship.
Being a Tyrone fan can be a tough job. Growing up, we had to deal with seeing Pat Spillane, Charlie Redmond, Graham Geraghty in our nightmares.
We always got so far, and had our hearts broken. Then came the noughties, and we became accustomed to winning.
If we are honest, we now half expect to be heading to Croke Park come August each year. This is not an act of arrogance mind, it's the sense of if you're in it at all, there's always a chance. We went from a position of expecting to lose, to believing that we could win.
We now are a county whose people know what to do and what to expect when we reach the final. The jokes of needing a map to navigate Jones' Road, thankfully, no longer apply.
Between now and Saturday, amidst the texts, phone calls, emails scrambling for tickets, more Tyrone pride than usual will be racing through the veins. There is a magic, a romanticism, a hope that embeds even the hardest of hearts in the lead up to a final, and it's special.
It's not confined to the county either. In exile, all over the world, the Tyrone spirit is being embraced. My neighbour in Belfast, who is in his 80s, is originally from Pomeroy. "Wasn't it great?" he began, and then proceeded to regale me with stories of playing in the accordion band ahead of the minor final way back when. Everyone has a story, a memory to share, and more will be made this week.
The winning ways of football might have rubbed off on wider society in the county, instilling us with confidence instead of doubt. They have certainly instilled a sense of self-belief in this generation of young sports people, and inspired the current team members.
Winning brings with it scrutiny, criticism from the outside, self belief that on occasion can be misunderstood as arrogance. In his autobiography, the former Kerry manager Jack O'Connor referred to Tyrone disparagingly as the 'nouveau riche'.
I have often thought of that term as being used as a battle cry. Perhaps it was last weekend.
As we witnessed, the Tyrone/Kerry rivalry remains potent. The Kingdom continue to underestimate the footballing prowess of the nouveau riche: 'They said that we wouldn't, they said that we couldn't, but do you know what, we did.' Sign me up for a T-shirt, that win might have been the sweetest win yet.
Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher's tenure as joint managers started a new chapter – or did they pick up where they left off? Both men were involved in managing the U21 team to an All-Ireland title in 2015. A number of those players are in the current squad.
Both know what it's like to win, but perhaps more importantly, they know what it feels like to lose.
As the stars were beginning to align, that visit to Killarney knocked the wind out of the newly raised Red Hand sails. Tyrone were trounced by the Kingdom in the national league. A different kind of nightmare for players and fans.
The pandemic has hit us all hard. Tyrone's Ulster championship campaign brought such a lift. It set up a mouth watering semi-final against Kerry.
But in recent weeks, Covid-19 has been rampant in the community, as proven by the daily statistics. Exactly how it has affected the Tyrone panel, management and backroom team is something that only they fully understand and it is not for anyone else to speculate.
Despite all of this, they won.
As accustomed as we have become to this September feeling, I can't imagine any Tyrone supporter denying Mayo their win if Saturday is finally to be the day for the green and red. This latest All-Ireland final place is the seventh for the county and all have happened in my lifetime. Three wins, three defeats. This Saturday will tip the balance.
Thank you to every person involved for giving us Tyrone fans another boost and another final to look forward to. Tír Eoghain Abú.
