Playful banter and eternal optimism, county colours and hopes so high, they fly beyond the top of Croke Park. A distressed fan milling around Gill’s Corner, eager to meet ‘yer man with my ticket’, and then, elation when the coveted piece of paper is handed over.

And so it unfolds – the cheers as the players follow the Artane Band around the pitch, Amhrán na bhFiann, the first puck-out, 70 minutes of your heart in your mouth. Then the final whistle – the roar of celebration, the heartbreak of a county. For players and fans, there is nothing better than All-Ireland final day. And if your team gets there – and even better, you have a ticket – it’s a privilege.

The flags are flying high in Tipperary this week, the celebrations ongoing. In those 70 minutes last Sunday, Tipp were the better, more deserving team.

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But for this Cork fan, the players, the county, there is only disappointment. It has been a season of excitement and let’s be honest, belief. Belief that after the one-point loss to Clare last year, 2025 would be our year. How utterly disappointing, especially for the team, that the dream fell apart in the last 35 minutes.

Cork fans have followed their team the whole way. So, I was disappointed to see so many red jerseys leaving the stadium in the last 10 minutes of the match on Sunday, when it became clear we couldn’t close the gap. And this isn’t unique. I saw the same thing a few weeks earlier, when Dublin fans realised they wouldn’t see Croke Park on All-Ireland final day, despite their 64-year wait.

In my opinion, it doesn’t matter what the score is or how badly you’re being beaten, stay until the end, out of respect to the players. Yes, I know, it was very hard to sit through those last moments of the match on Sunday but it was much harder for the lads on the pitch. When the chips are down, that’s when they need their supporters most. The players weren’t leaving and neither should we.

Cork fans have followed their team the whole way. So, I was disappointed to see so many red jerseys leaving the stadium in the last 10 minutes of the match on Sunday, when it became clear we couldn’t close the gap

Of course, there are always exceptions, and in this case it’s Douglas Crowley, the 10-year Cork fan crying in the stand. His father took him home early – it was right to leave his boyhood dreams intact and his heroes on a pedestal for another year.

We have three more weekends of fantastic GAA to look forward to, including the football head-to-head with Donegal and Kerry this weekend (see page 6). Will it be another Tipp versus Cork final in the camogie or will Galway or Waterford be there? And in the ladies football, the classic rivalry of Dublin versus Meath will battle it out.

In our post-match analysis in the Irish Farmers Journal HQ , one of my colleagues mentioned this quote by Theodore Roosevelt. It is a reminder that every player is giving it their all, and if you’re lucky enough to be there, cheer until that last whistle.

“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood...who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions…who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”