Next Sunday's All-Ireland football final is in retrospect one of the more predictable pairings. Of course everything is predictable with hindsight, but despite blips on the season's graph both Mayo and Kerry were highly-rated prospects from the beginning.

Paradoxically, it has also been an open championship, following last year's highly competitive pattern.

Last May both finalists put down markers in the National League and the championship. The significance of Kerry's NFL victory has been emphasised by players and management and has obviously outweighed the flawed performance which secured the title against Cork. Mayo were altogether more impressive in their championship victory over Galway in Tuam three weeks later. It was the county's first away win at the venue for 46 years.

The intervening three months have been more complicated than the eventual emergence of the two counties into an All-Ireland final would suggest. Other favoured teams developed a stuttering profile before coming to an abrupt halt.

Derry and Meath had less than convincing initial wins over Monaghan and Dublin but appeared to have staked more robust claims to the championship after provincial semi-finals which saw, respectively, the demolition of Tyrone and the touching-off of Kildare after a three-match epic.

Both went on to sensational defeats at the hands of Cavan and Offaly. Sensation was as evident in the style of the winners' displays as the actual results: Cavan's fast-moving game was facilitated by Derry's tactical errors but made the Ulster final the match of the season and Offaly's devastating despatch of Meath was only qualified by the champions' - largely self-inflicted - problems with unavailable players.

In a way, the painful experience of Cavan and Offaly in their AllIreland semi-finals against Kerry and Mayo heightened the significance of the Ulster and Leinster championships. Normally, these provinces are won by heavy hitters - teams that will have a major influence on the closing stages of the All-Ireland series.

For both the Ulster and Leinster titles to be taken by outsiders is indication of how competitive game has become. This was the first time in 15 years that the Leinster title had gone outside Meath or Dublin, and Cavan were having their first success in the north since 1969.

More importantly, neither county can be said to have guaranteed prospects for the immediate future, with Martin McHugh already having stepped down in Cavan and Tommy Lyons's intentions with Offaly indeterminate.

The greater the role played by current form in the championships, the less asphyxiating the grip of tradition and reputation. Meath, having seen off Dublin, were thought virtual certainties to win the province but should have lost to Kildare before Offaly finished the job in the final.

Some acknowledgment of older values can be seen in the success of Mayo and Kerry in reaching the All-Ireland. Both came through relatively untesting (the GalwayMayo match excepted) provincial campaigns but both managed to exploit their experience from last year in the semi-final. But again, neither will be looking far beyond this year given the developing situation in Munster and Connacht.

Cork's untimely exit to Martin Daly's injury-time goal obscured the potential in Larry Tompkins's management and Kerry will be wary about their chances of retaining the title next season, whereas in Connacht, Galway under John O'Mahony's management will pose formidable problems for Mayo next year.

Every All-Ireland is vital for the teams involved but the experience of the last 25 years has been that counties get a few chances at the All-Ireland. Now the pressure is on to take what opportunities arise. Mayo are on their second chance and won't be betting on the likelihood of a third if next Sunday doesn't work out. The county's presence is a slight anomaly in that the team is a senior phenomenon with hardly any under-age precedent.

Kerry, on the other hand, have sunk deeper foundations in accumulating a minor and two under21 All-Irelands. This infrastructure makes them the more probable bets in the long-term and puts greater pressure on Mayo.