MOSTLY HURLING:A great Kilkenny team may be on the cusp of an unprecedented five-in-a row but the history of sport shows the underdog always has a chance, writes JOHN ALLEN

"FIVE-IN-a-row, five-in-a- row, Kilkenny was first with the five-in-a-row.' The soon to be recorded song will be on the market as soon as the final whistle is blown on final day to accompany the T-shirts which will be on sale outside headquarters. Of course there will be a book or two in the immediate aftermath and the definitive history of this great team will be available for Christmas.

Make no mistake about it though, the pressure will be immense on the Kilkenny hurling camp over the next fortnight. There will be a mad scramble from various sections of the local business world to be associated with the team. The jersey and hurley signing will reach a new high. The fund-raising requests will have to be contended with. The requests from various non-sport media will add to the pressure.

It began in earnest with the wild rumours on Sunday evening last about the injury to Tommy Walsh. By Tuesday it had all dissipated and the next rumour was needed. Henry might make it? Nice guy and journalist (they do exist you know) John Knox of the Kilkenny Peoplenewspaper, talking to genial broadcaster Des Cahill on radio on Monday evening, said the chances were slim with Henry. An emphatic "No" says selector Martin Fogarty on Tuesday, unless there's a miracle. But make no mistake about it, the rumour and pressure mill is grinding on.

And what about Tipperary? At this remove they are quoted at almost 3-to1 by the bookmakers with the champs at 3-to-1 on. So has this particular underdog any chance? Well history is littered with tales of the unexpected.

It was February 1964. If the Brownsville projects in Brooklyn hadn't thrown up Mike Tyson, it would be harder to convey the fearsome mystique that Charles "Sonny" Liston inspired in the America of 40 years ago.

As Brownsville obliged with Iron Mike, imagine a less eloquent, equally destructive and furious man, a man whose strength appeared merciless. When Cassius Clay came to challenge him, Liston was considered unbeatable. The only uncertainty surrounding the fight would be whether Clay would exit the ring alive. Cassius Clay, or Muhammad Ali as he later became known, was quoted at 7-to-1 on to win. He duly obliged.

In Euro 2004, Greece were 100-to-1 to win it. In the knockout stage, they beat France, the Czech Republic and host Portugal, all by 1-0 scores, to win the title. This would be akin to a predictable, overwritten romantic comedy about a Greek woman trying to find love grossing over $240 million at the box office aka My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Shane Lowry won the Irish Open golf tournament last year. He was the first amateur to win in his debut appearance.

What about the 42-to-1 odds that faced James "Buster" Douglas in his heavyweight title fight against Mike Tyson in 1990? Tyson had been the heavyweight champion of the world for more than two years, and appeared unstoppable. The Douglas fight was supposed to be a tune-up, merely warming "Iron Mike" up for a showdown with Evander Holyfield. Douglas had other plans, taking the fight to Tyson early on and unlike any opponent the champ had ever faced, dominating the early rounds.

The two continued to battle into the 10th round, when Douglas clocked Tyson and put him down for the count, becoming the undisputed champion of the world in the process.

Who would have foreseen Antrim defeating Offaly in the All Ireland hurling semi-final of 1989, or Kerry defeating Waterford in the 1993 Munster, yes, hurling championship? What about the result being reversed between the same sides in the 1957 football championship?

Then there was the "donkeys don't win derbies" Munster hurling final of 1990. A comment from then Tipperary manager Babs Keating about how bad teams don't get to win Munster finals was used by Cork and helped propel them to one of the unlikeliest Munster titles in their history. Bookies in Cork had them at 4-to-1 to win the game.

The All-Ireland hurling semi-final of 1975 threw up a major surprise. Twenty-two years and many defeats had passed since Galway had won an All-Ireland semi-final, but a league title that year gave them a little hope. Interestingly, Galway had never beaten Cork in the championship before this as far as I know. These particular men from the west weren't affected by history though. Galway had three goals within 10 minutes and the rest is history, as they say.

So the underdog does win.

Indeed the recent football semi- finals reassured us that the underdog is still able to overcome the odds.

Cork's clash with Dublin this weekend takes me back to 1983 when I wore the number 14 shirt in the well-documented semi-final and replay that the Dubs eventually won.

We went to Dublin that year and really didn't know what to expect as Cork hadn't won Munster since 1974. The colour and the noise was like nothing we'd ever experienced before. We had the game in the bag, metaphorically speaking, as added time began but ace forward Barney Rock hadn't read the script and finished the ball to the net to salvage a draw for Dublin.

To everybody's surprise, the replay was fixed for Cork the following Sunday. If the atmosphere in Dublin was magical, this time it was electric. The Dubs on tour brought a carnival atmosphere to Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Musicians Finbarr and Eddie Furey arrived by helicopter. First stop (after exiting the helicopter of course) was our dressingroom to wish us all the best. They added to the surreal feeling that pervaded that balmy August afternoon. It was like playing in a Manchester derby (not that I ever got to play in one of those). The chanting and noise from start to finish is etched firmly in my memory. Unfortunately so is the result, as we were beaten comprehensively by a much-improved Dublin side.

Strangely enough for that era, on that Cork team there wasn't any player who was also on the senior hurling team that year. I had been on both panels up to the Munster final but was surplus to the hurlers' requirements after that. Tadhg Murphy and myself had already won All-Ireland under-21 and senior hurling medals in the '70s.

Eoin Cadogan is the only present-day Cork player who has opted and been allowed to play both codes by the respective managements. I'm not too sure as to how good it is for team spirit to have a player come straight into first-team reckoning at this very late stage in the campaign. Obviously somebody loses out and is hurt. There is also a huge knock-on effect for clubs to have a player playing both codes and holding up the club competitions in these days of "back doors".

However the game will be played and that rivalry will be renewed again on Sunday, in front of what should be a sell-out crowd. I've no doubt but the atmosphere will be electric again. My only hope is Cork finish the job at the first time of asking this time, with apologies to Eddie Furey.

"What about the 42-to-1 odds that faced James "Buster" Douglas in his heavyweight title fight against Mike Tyson in 1990?