Sport is a passion in Cork, all except hurling - that is much more than a passion. And Cork hurling is back, according to team manager Jimmy Barry Murphy.
It is difficult to quantify what the sliotar and the caman mean in Cork circles, or how the hair can stand on the back of your neck on a summer's day at Thurles when the sod is dry and the hurling is crisp; when skills are on show that could never be seen in the sordid conditions of the winter league. Difficult, but not impossible.
Cork people know their hurling and have a great pride in it. They are seen as arrogant supporters. I don't think so, but I would say that, wouldn't I? As a youngster attending many Munster finals, I had to wait for more than a decade before Cork got to the All Ireland final in 1966 against Kilkenny. That day, Cork won against the odds. True grit against a more skilful side was the solution.
But Cork hurling has been in the doldrums. Forget anything bar the championship. There is a passing interest in the league - success or otherwise in that competition doesn't mean too much really and is seen only as a means of blooding young players.
There are those who would die to wear the red jersey and those whom the supporters would cheerfully kill when they wear it without distinction. Being a county hurler in Cork is hard, and on the terraces there is no bending.
I have been at Munster finals when Jimmy Barry Murphy, one of the greatest exponents of the game, was lauded one minute and vilified the next. I have heard him being called a waster and a genius almost in the same breath. That takes something.
Still, there is an anthem to him in Cork - he will be heralded in song forever and that takes something special too.
Now, together with some of the legendary names of Cork hurling, he is the guiding force behind a resurgent Cork team. How good? We shall see. There are great expectations.
JBM, as some know him, could hardly be described as an assuming man. He works for a finance house in the city and has a busy life in that direction. His greyhound interests are well known, but as an exponent himself of hurling skills, his mission was to find good ball players.
Where they came from in the county didn't matter. He wanted to put together a team that would epitomise Cork hurling and grit. It's been a hard road back for Cork. Clare and others have been on the ascendancy in Munster. Not since 1992 did Cork win a Munster Hurling Final. And then, after a superb display against Tipperary in a replay, Clare showed just how good they could be.
How could the youngsters of Cork match that, especially when six of them were novices at the championship game? Was it a brave decision to bring six untested players into the cauldron of a Munster hurling final? Not brave at all, says Jimmy Barry Murphy. It had to be done; the situation demanded it.
Together with former players like Jim Cashman, Johnny Crowley, Seanie Leary, and others behind the scenes, a plan was hatched to scour the county for new talent.
That happened and the result was a win in Thurles not too long ago against a vastly more experienced Clare side. Is there an ominous side to it? Did Ger Loughnane pull his charges back on the day? Not so, says Jimmy Barry Murphy. Still, there is some suspicion among the Cork faithful.
"I don't believe for a second that happened. But because of the way the championship is structured nowadays, we might wind up meeting them again. We would be fools to write off Clare and if we have to meet them again, there will be a massive task ahead of us.
"But it's all there to play for and we want to win this championship. We are not thinking about or contemplating defeat, neither are the players. The Cork public doesn't dwell too long on the good days when bad days have dawned. I suppose they are unforgiving in that respect - they want results," said the manager, who has five hurling and one All Ireland football medals to his name.
While there is no overnight success in this game, Barry Murphy is convinced that successful minor and under-21 teams have been laying the groundwork for the past few years. The time may be at hand, he hopes. An affable man, he has time for everyone, and because he has already passed into the sporting folklore of Cork, he gets more attention than most people would relish. But he loves talking about the game - both with experts and enthusiastic amateurs. "Believe it or not, I actually love that part of it," he says.