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28th August 2015
01:14pm BST
On Sunday, Dublin face off against their old foes from the west.
Two sides that have swept aside all comers and it is hard to get a take on how their performances this season should really be stacked up.
Dublin would have been seen as clear favourites to advance to their third final in five championship summers. That was until Mayo eviscerated Donegal 2-13 to 1-11.
Aidan O'Shea led the forward line and was beastly. Lee Keegan was a handful - one day he may admit, though, that his goal was less than planned.
https://youtu.be/h0nWcWxbOA8
Gavin will be delighted that the Dubs have come into their last four clash under the radar.
In fact, were it not for the challenge match shenanigans that left Davey Byrne hospitalised, Dublin would have steered well clear of back-page [and website] headlines.
Make no doubt about it - this is Dublin's chance to step up from talented squad to era-defining stuff.
The sign of a truly great side is to put their foot on opponents' throat while they are down.
The future is by no means bleak for the [mostly young] men from the capital but another semi-final failure would set a bad precedent and plant sizeable seeds of doubt.
No one football side in the country can claim to have the winning mentality that flows through the veins of Kilkenny's hurlers.
When the Cats are playing badly, they usually get the win. One bad championship is rarely followed by another. It is often followed with their captain of choice raising the Liam MacCarthy.
Winning their next two games would be huge for Dublin.
All of a sudden, it would be three All-Irelands in five years.
Not quite era-defining but a damn good start.
The current squad has the talent to challenge to for the next six years. By the end of this decade, players like Jack McCaffrey, Flynn and Ciaran Kilkenny could have five or six All-Irelands to their name.
Only then would it become boring.
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