PREPARING FOR A SHOWDOWN:THE EXCITEMENT was rising in Tyrone yesterday as the county geared up for its first senior championship final since it last took the Sam Maguire home three years ago.
With past successes still fresh in their minds, the players and their army of supporters are determined to stop Kerry making it three in a row.
Tomorrow's showdown is one of the most intriguing and highly anticipated games of recent years, with the outcome anyone's guess, and the accolade of the decade's most successful team up for grabs.
Driving through the county this week, the sense of anticipation has been palpable, with every village and town awash with red and white.
Bunting hangs from almost every lamppost; flags adorn everything from windows and roofs to cars and public art. There is hardly a statue or sculpture that isn't decked out in the county kit.
Even farmyard animals haven't escaped the exuberance of the people of Tyrone; a familiar sight for anyone travelling from Strabane to Armagh will be the livestock wearing the county colours.
Louise McGee from Pomeroy has taken to giving her white horse a red mane. For good measure she has added a red tail and some brightly coloured red hands.
The fashion phenomenon of the 2008 championship has to be the beard: ever since some of Mickey Harte's men began sporting extra facial hair, supporters have followed suit in their droves.
A number of players, including Ryan McMenamin, Joe McMahon, Ciarán Gourley and Owen Mulligan have not shaved since the start of the championship in a move that is said to have encouraged team spirit and bonding. Now it is difficult to avoid the plethora of supporters' T-shirts emblazoned with images of the bearded sportsmen.
Hope springs eternal and preparations are already being made to bring the Sam Maguire home in style on Monday.
Many schools are preparing to close for the day, the pubs are preparing for massive crowds, and an open-top bus is ready to parade the winning team and their well-earned silverware through the county.
Sinn Féin MLA and Tyrone stalwart Barry McElduff couldn't escape the excitement even had he wanted to. "I'm in my constituency office, and if I look out my front window or my back window I can see it's getting madder and madder by the second," he said from Omagh yesterday.
And no, he had no spare tickets, he added, after weeks of people plaguing him for the golden entry to GAA headquarters. "People are very secretive and furtive about what they've got, because everyone is accusing each other of being in the know and having good tickets."
Meanwhile, manager Mickey Harte is quietly confident. "I think we're going to have a good late September Sunday," he said.