Maurice Brosnan: We endure an All-Ireland final like this because of all that football can give

Gaelic football is the venom and the antidote.

Armagh players Mark Shields, right, and Niall Grimley celebrate after their side's victory in the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Armagh and Galway at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Hold on tight. Make ready for a white-knuckle ride. The wild swirl of jubilation that swept across Croke Park came like a dam break. A heaving sea of fervour had built up over the course of 70 excruciating minutes, of two crazed weeks, of 22 long years.

There is a tortured supporter high in the Hogan Stand. No one knows his creed, the cold started to descend during the final quarter and a jacket engulfs his colours. It is all about the bleachers right now. That passage, indeed most of the second half, was defined by impactful substitutes.