Life used to be so simple. Ulster teams were All-Ireland semi-final fodder and we wished them well every year and commended them on their feistiness.
How have they repaid us? It's hard now to remember when Ulster football made the transition from pliant peasant stock to perpetual revolution. Since Down's most recent uprising in the 90s sandwiched novel All-Irelands for Derry and Donegal between its slices of glory the rest of us have never again been able to take our friends up north for granted.
Armagh came strong and then Tyrone, and though both houses (the potentates of puke football, as some would have it) are in decline right now neither can be comfortably dismissed.
And anyway, Ulster has provided the last two National League champions, two sides who can make a surge for superpower status.
On top of Donegal's and Derry's excellence, throw in Monaghan's considerable presence and the stirring of something primal in Down as well as the knowledge that Armagh and Tyrone still show a strong pulse. There is the makings in 2008 of an Ulster championship for the ages.
Derry and Donegal first, given chronology and turf-accountancy prices demand it.
Brian McIver and Paddy Crozier share a provenance and have roughly the same length of time served in their jobs. Both have had a moment when they decided they could take the job no more because the men they were looking after were stone mad. And now both have a National League title to their name.
Crozier will by now have studied Donegal's misadventures last summer and calculated how best to avoid repeating them.
Ah! Remember? Donegal, who looked irresistible in the league last year, could be forgiven the slightly fortuitous manner of their breakout win against the imperial powers from Armagh but they then disintegrated rapidly against Tyrone in Clones.
The qualifiers brought brief solace and then a thumping by Monaghan, whose trajectory has continued to impress. Poor Donegal!
Derry, kings for the day when this year's league expired in Parnell Park, celebrated briefly, all the while vowing they would not be letting the win go to their heads. It is somehow easier to believe Derry's sober promises than Donegal's. Derry have less form in the merriment stakes and more history in the league-winning business.
Also they have the prospect of playing Donegal in a few weeks' time to remind them of the perils of slippage.
In short Derry seem a little more like the real deal than Donegal did a year ago. A little hungrier, a little edgier and packing a little more class in the shape of big hitters like Kevin McCloy, Seán Marty Lockhart, Enda Muldoon, Paddy Bradley and a few others.
And while there may be excuses made for Kerry's distraction in the league final the determined nature of Derry's comeback and the clinical style in which they closed out the game suggest a team ready for a bigger stage.
Ulster being the dark forest of provincial football championships means there is no easy path out of the place. For all their evident class and resolution, the new league champions could be first-round losers. Having inflicted defeat on Donegal in league action, Derry head to the cauldron of Ballybofey on June 1st knowing the next game they play could be in the qualifiers.
Form suggests otherwise but Ulster is Ulster and the winners in Ballybofey go on to face one of the banana-skin counties, Monaghan or Fermanagh, in the next round.
Monaghan's credentials are probably more impressive but their fade-out in the latter stages of the league was a little alarming and the upshot is they and Fermanagh will be in next season's league Division Two. Nothing to be taken for granted there.
On the far side of the draw Down have shown flashes of immense potential, their win against Limerick being a particularly fluent afternoon's work, but to travel to Omagh and outplay the resident band in high summer is a tall order.
(By the way, any thoughts on the fact the rather cerebral and likeable Ross Carr should get a two-month suspension for criticising a referee when that is the same sentence handed to some players who assault each other in front of referees and twice the normal sentence for fisticuffs?)
Anyway, Tyrone probably haven't gone away, and if the gods provide some respite from the biblical plague of injuries that has beset the county they will relish the chance to come into the championship under the radar, as it were.
Brian McGuigan's return against Mayo late in the league and the form of his brother Tommy augur well, as does the possibility of an imminent return for the talismanic Monsieur Dooher. Tyrone remain one of those outfits who would surprise nobody if they put together a run of form when the days get sunny. A couple of good results would invite a summer chorus of "I told you so" from the faculty of football philosophy on the grassy bank.
Regardless of how the comeback kids unfold Tyrone should reach a semi-final match-up with their old buddies Armagh, who must by now be bitterly regretting that Joe Kernan did not sire enough sons to make up an entire team.
Armagh are further from the glory days than Tyrone, and in the absence of Big Joe they tend to be written off for scrap with alarming facility.
For us soft, beery Southerners the feeling persists that teams like Peter McDonnell's get a raw deal domestically from northern fans who became accustomed very quickly to success.
Armagh have brought through players like Charlie Vernon and Finnian Morrissey and remain solid, with the option of stepping it up a notch when the occasion demands.
All of which suggests only a fool would predict this year's Ulster champions and only a fool's mentor would write off any Ulster side to get bumped into the qualifiers.
Antrim's crucial league defeat to Waterford means they are the one side we feel comfortable with writing off for the Ulster football championship. Perhaps Derry won't win it but we feel justified in cursing them with the tag of favouritism.
County Guide - Ian O'Riordan
ANTRIM
Losing out on promotion from Division Four was one of the heartbreak stories of the league, but at least Antrim were going in the right direction. A reasonable draw against Cavan offers them a chance, but they'll have to take it because the qualifiers are out of bounds for another year.
IF ANTRIM WERE A BOB DYLAN SONG...
Forever Young (from the album Planet Waves) Includes the lines: "May your hands always be busy, May your feel always be swift, May you have a strong foundation, When the winds of changes shift."
Last 3 Championship seasons:2005: Lost to Cavan; Lost to Meath 2006: Lost to Fermanagh; Lost to Clare 2007: Lost to Derry
ARMAGH
A new era is underway and form improved as the league went on. But belief may take rebuilding.
IF ARMAGH WERE A BOB DYLAN SONG ...
I Threw It All Away (Nashville Skyline) Includes the lines: "Once I had mountains in the palm of my hand, And rivers that ran through ev'ry day, I must have been mad, I never knew what I had, Until I threw it all away."
Last 3 Championship seasons:2005: Beat Fermanagh; Drew with Donegal; Beat Donegal; Beat Derry; Drew with Tyrone; Beat Tyrone; Beat Laois; Lost to Tyrone 2006: Drew with Monaghan; Beat Monaghan; Drew with Fermanagh; Beat Fermanagh; Beat Donegal; Lost to Kerry 2007: Lost to Donegal; Lost to Derry Armagh
CAVAN
It's been a long, hard road back to the glory days of old, and no signs they're close to getting there yet. Should handle Antrim in the first round, but league form suggests they'll struggle after that.
IF CAVAN WERE A BOB DYLAN SONG...
Dignity (Oh Mercy) Includes the lines: "So many roads, so much at stake, So many dead ends, I'm at the edge of the lake, Sometimes I wonder what it's gonna take, to find dignity."
Last 3 Championship seasons: 2005: Beat Antrim; Drew with Tyrone; Lost to Tyrone; Beat Donegal; Lost to Mayo 2006: Lost to Down; Lost to Kildare 2007: Drew with Down; Lost to Down; Lost to Mayo
DERRY
Winning the league has raised ambitions. They have the players, the experience and the belief, but must negotiate the annual minefield of Ulster.
IF DERRY WERE A BOB DYLAN SONG...
The Times They Are A-Changin' (The Times They Are A-Changin') Includes the lines: "And don't speak too soon, For the wheel's still in spin, And there's no tellin' who that it's namin', For the loser now will be later to win."
Last 3 Championship seasons:2005: Beat Monaghan; Lost to Armagh; Beat Down; Beat Limerick; Lost to Laois 2006: Beat Tyrone; Lost toDonegal; Beat Kildare; Lost to Longford 2007: Beat Antrim; Lost to Monaghan; Beat Armagh; Beat Mayo; Beat Laois; Lost to Dublin
DONEGAL
Ambitions are more modest this year, perhaps a good thing. League form was good, and an Ulster title is long overdue.
IF DONEGAL WERE A BOB DYLAN SONG....
Most of the Time (Oh Mercy) Includes the lines: "Most of the time, I'm clear focused all around, Most of the time, I can keep both feet on the ground, I can follow the path, I can read the signs, Stay right with it when the road unwinds . . . Most of the time."
Last 3 Championship seasons:2005: Drew with Armagh; Lost to Armagh; Beat Wicklow; Lost to Cavan 2006: Beat Down; Beat Derry; Lost to Armagh; Beat Fermanagh; Lost to Cork 2007: Beat Armagh; Lost to Tyrone; Beat Leitrim; Beat Westmeath; Lost to Monaghan
DOWN
The strong record at underage always keeps the expectations high but it's been a long time since that was realised. A decent league run suggests more consistent form, and they have a chance against a clearly declining Tyrone.
IF DOWN WERE A BOB DYLAN SONG...
It Ain't Me, Babe (Another Side of Bob Dylan) Includes the lines: "You say you're looking for someone, Who'll pick you up each time you fall, To gather flowers constantly, An' to come each time you call."
Last 3 Championship seasons:2005: Lost to Tyrone; Beat Fermanagh; Lost to Derry 2006: Beat Cavan; Lost to Donegal; Lost to Sligo 2007: Lost to Monaghan; Lost to Meath
FERMANAGH
League form at least suggests newfound consistency, which has been rewarded with promotion to division two, and though Monaghan present a daunting challenge in the first round, Fermanagh are often at their best when rank outsiders.
IF FERMANAGH WERE A BOB DYLAN SONG...
I Shall Be Released (The Basement Tapes) Includes the lines: "They say ev'rything can be replaced, Yet ev'ry distance is not near . . . I see my light come shining, From the west unto the east, Any day now, any day now, I shall be released."
Last 3 Championship seasons: 2005: Lost to Armagh; Lost to Down 2006: Beat Antrim; Drew with Armagh; Lost to Armagh; Beat Clare; Beat Wexford; Lost to Donegal 2007: Lost to Tyrone; Beat Wexford; Lost to Meath
MONAGHAN
Had they held out against Kerry last year who knows where their season would have ended? And while they buckled at the end of the league, they look to be on the brink of winning something big.
IF MONAGHAN WERE A BOB DYLAN SONG...
When the Ship Comes In (The Times They Are A-Changin') Includes the lines: "Oh the foes will rise, With the sleep still in their eyes . . . And like Pharaoh's tribe, They'll be drowned in the tide, And like Goliath, they'll be conquered."
Last 3 Championship seasons:2005: Lost to Derry; Beat London; Beat Wexford; Beat Louth; Lost to Tyrone 2006: Drew with Armagh; Lost to Armagh; Beat Wicklow; Lost to Wexford 2007: Beat Down; Beat Derry; Lost to Tyrone; Beat Donegal; Lost to Kerry
TYRONE
May be on the decline but remain shrewd and highly capable, and if their top players are fit, can still brew up a storm.
IF TYRONE WERE A BOB DYLAN SONG...
Mr Tambourine Man (Bringing It All Back Home) Includes the lines: "Evenin's empire has returned into sand, Vanished from my hand, Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping."
Last 3 Championship seasons:2005: Beat Down; Drew with Cavan; Beat Cavan; Drew with Armagh; Lost to Armagh; Beat Monaghan; Drew with Dublin; Beat Dublin; Beat Armagh; Beat Kerry 2006: Lost to Derry; Drew with Louth; Beat Louth; Lost to Laois 2007: Beat Fermanagh; Beat Donegal; Beat Monaghan; Lost to Meath