THERE was a buzz around the capital in 2008.
The Dubs had demolished Wexford by 3-23 to 0-9 in the Leinster final to send shock waves throughout the country.
Though the then manager, Paul Caffrey, urged caution ahead of the quarter-final clash with Tyrone, you couldn’t blame those dressed in blue for feeling confident when they passed through the turnstiles at Croke Park on August 16.
Tyrone bowed out of Ulster early, being held in Omagh by Down before going down by a point in the replay. Mickey Harte’s side found themselves in unfamiliar territory, the first round of the qualifiers, and it seemed the Red Hands reign as the side to beat was slowly coming to an end.
They saw off Louth and Westmeath in Rounds One and Two respectively, but neither performance was inspiring. In Round Three they just scraped past Mayo by a single point, and to the most experienced of pundits the quarter-final with Dublin was simply too close to call.
The ball was thrown in, Tyrone exploded into life and after 70 dominant minutes by the Ulster men they cruised to a easy 12-point win by 3-14 to 1-8.
Dublin players looked understandably shell-shocked at the long whistle and the fall-out from the gut-wrenching defeat was dramatic. Caffrey wasted no time in announcing his resignation after four years in the Dublin hotseat.
He urged the county to “accept the defeat and move on”. A year later at the same stage of the Championship there was more heartbreak for the Metropolitans.
Once again they waltzed through Leinster while Kerry stumbled through the qualifiers. But after a 1-24 to 1-7 defeat at the hands of the Kingdom, new boss Pat Gilroy found himself in an identical position to his predecessor the previous year.
This time the big name resignation was that of inspirational captain Ciarán Whelan. It seemed the quarterfinals were designed to hurt the Dubs year after year.
But in 2010, things are different, the expectation levels are measured and Dublin will contest Saturday afternoon’s match-up with the Red Hands as definite underdogs.
“It is a very tough draw for Dublin,” said Dublin chairman Gerry Harrington this week, adding: “Tyrone are Ulster champions and have been there or there about over the last number of years. They put up a huge score against us in that last Championship game and they will be coming into the game as strong favourites.”
After shipping five goals in the Leinster semi-final against Meath, the Dubs have fought their way back into the Championship with qualifier wins over Armagh and Louth and, slowly but surely, have developed into a team of equals.
Young Eoghan O’Gara showed against the Wee County men on Saturday why he’s one of the hottest prospects in Dublin football when he bagged a brace of goals, and while few give them a chance against Tyrone it’s premature to write Dublin’s epitaph for 2010 just yet.
For once the pressure won’t be on Pat Gilroy’s side. Instead Ulster champions Tyrone have been set up for the fall.
“There is a lot of glamour and anticipation playing Dublin in the Championship at Croke Park,” said Mickey Harte this week before urging caution.
“That we have had good success in recent times doesn’t guarantee it this time around.
They have plenty of reasons to want to beat us and we have to be wary of that. They are always up there, they get to the quarterfinals so often. They can’t be a bad side if they are appearing in the quarter-finals year-in, year out.”
It’s worth remembering that Dublin condemned Tyrone to Division 2 of the NFL next season when they recorded a 2-14 to 1-11 victory in Healy Park earlier this year.
In the year of the underdog, could the men in blue finally pull off the result they so desperately crave?