The important factor Kerry had in order to win last Sunday's All-Ireland final was David Clifford.
Had he stayed on the field against Tyrone in the 2021 semi-final, the Red Hands may never have captured the silverware.
Don’t get me wrong, Tyrone deservedly put away Mayo in the final, but Clifford’s injury and absence in extra-time in 2021 crippled the Kingdom.
Losing an All-Ireland final hangs around you like a stench.
Galway coughed up too much possession and were snatching at shots in the last 10 minutes. The decision-making was becoming more questionable in this period.
Galway supporters and players may point to the rather dubious free awarded to Kerry by Sean Hurson when the teams had drawn level at 0-16 a piece in the second half.
However, the Galway man in possession should never have turned into traffic, trying to barge to the outside when there were plenty of team-mates inside, including the goalkeeper, Connor Gleeson.
Those are the inches that make the difference - decisions that ultimately decide a game.
There will be plenty of regrets for Galway and they will have to learn from these quickly.
However, this should not detract from the Tribesmen's performance as a collective.
Up until that point, when both sides were level, Galway had played brilliantly.
You have to remember that this was their first All-Ireland final with this group of players.
I am sure that the experience of losing a final against Dublin in 2018 for some players still on the Tyrone panel in 2021 helped guide them to the promised land.
Cork lost in 2008 and '09 and then won it against us in 2010.
Kerry are guaranteed to be in Croke Park in quarter- and semi-finals most years.
So, given the historical structure of the competition, they are going to play in a significant number of finals, as demonstrated by winning their 38th title last weekend.
They have lost quite a few too and with Dublin’s dominance of the last decade, uncharacteristically, this meant that Kerry were becoming used to losing tight games on big occasions - something that didn’t sit well with them.
Kerry were not at their best in this game, but still ensured they went into half-time only one point behind.
It was about hanging in there and in those moments (being the last 10 minutes) understanding how to close a game out - which they did.
Galway’s Shane Walsh and Cillian McDaid were unplayable for large parts of the game and for them it is cruel that they should play so brilliantly and come away on the losing side.
Padraic Joyce deserves huge credit for how he has turned Galway around – a team who had absolutely no idea how to defend as a collective after the Kevin Walsh era.
Perhaps Cian O’Neill had something to do with this also, but it is ironic that both Paddy Tally and O’Neill had assumed manager status in their own right in the past with certain counties, only to now lead respective All-Ireland contenders into a final as coaches.
Perhaps it is the fact that I have lost a final, by the smallest of margins, I can empathise with what the Galway players will be going through this week.
Kerry have had to do it and for the Galway players they can see this as an opportunity rather than allow this defeat to define them.
For me, as a county, we wallowed too much in self-pity in the aftermath of that defeat in 2010 and I suppose there were questions that only the management could answer, which left an open wound.
It festered and rather than galvanise us as a panel, we crashed out of the first round of the Championship the following year against Armagh in the Athletic Grounds.
We actually had a very good League campaign that season, reaching the semi-finals but Cork had the Indian sign over us from the final the year before and beat us convincingly.
A back-door run to the quarter-finals wasn’t without its near scrapes (particularly against Clare) but we met a Mayo side who were beginning to come with Andy Moran, Keith Higgins, Colm Boyle et al, so we began to tail off quite significantly.
We all know Kerry’s rich history and the ability to produce quality across the team, David Clifford simply being a further extension in a genetic lineage that appears to be made in a laboratory rather than through natural selection!
I joke of course, but I do wonder how they produce such class players; Sean O’Shea also being one, while we are producing little to nothing any longer.
What was very clear after the match was the sheer relief etched on both the Kerry players' faces and management, including supporters like Pat Spillane.
They see the honour in the jersey - grandfathers and fathers only wanting to see their sons grace Croke Park and win a Sam Maguire.
For them, nothing else in life really matters.
Football in Kerry is religious, I would even say more important than their religion.
It transcends generations and while the body may wilt and die, in Kerry you have the chance of immortality if you win a Celtic Cross.
This is lost on some players and participants in my own county.
If I was being critical, we are the Sadducees in biblical terms.
Across Ulster and Ireland this week, county squads will be gathering again for gym sessions and while Kerry celebrate, others will be waiting their turn.
Waiting to knock them off their perch.
Going back to Galway, it's okay to wallow for a few days and the few drinks they take this week will taste bitter sweet – however, it is their opportunity to grow and appreciate that sometimes you have to lose a few hands before you win the jackpot.
They only have to look at the victors Kerry, their neighbours Cork, Tyrone and even Dublin over the years to appreciate the fact, that sometimes the experience of learning how not to lose a final is as important as learning how to win one.
