Cork hurlers know by now everyone wants them to fall flat on their faces, they'll ignore the distractions

After Cork cut loose to beat Offaly, All-Star corner-back Seán O'Donoghue explained what it's like dealing with expectation: "This unbackable favourite thing is just noise, it’s up to you whether you want to listen or not, but we don't listen to any of that kind of stuff anyway."

They've no choice really. As has been the case for a while now, Paddy Power paying out on Cork lifting Liam MacCarthy and the tattoo debacle being the worst examples, there's a cacophony around the Cork hurlers.

They've the biggest following in hurling and like Man United or Liverpool, they're a team everyone else loves to hate. It's box-office stuff, especially with an agonising 21-year wait for glory. 

You would think that would garner the sympathy of some neutrals but the glee the losses in recent seasons at Croker were greeted with put paid to that notion. ABC: Anyone But Cork.

The disgraceful rumours about a dressing room bust-up at half-time last July, highlighted that nasty side of it. The incredible support is thrown back at Cork all the time, like it's a negative that over 40,000 were in Thurles for a quarter-final or that tickets for every Munster round robin game were like hen's teeth.

Darragh Fitzgibbon and co are just trying to put the heads down and focus on reaching a third All-Ireland final in a row. But there's always something out of their control that can be thrown at them.

A hotel in Cork city recently advertised a bumper day's entertainment featuring the Cork v Limerick All-Ireland hurling and World Cup finals before the semis have taken place. Sound lads, that's really helpful.

STRAY BULLET

Ringmahon Rangers didn't cover themselves in glory by pulling out of an FAI Cup tie with Bohemians and citing a potential clash with the All-Ireland final on July 19 as one of the reasons. Ringmahon's options to move the game were restricted due to Bohs' European campaign and they weren't allowed host the game in their own ground, which would mean hiring St Colman's Park in Cobh.

However, the headline-grabbing issue of the All-Ireland final was cited as another example of 'Cork arrogance'. Talk about catching a stray bullet.

There's also loose talk about Cork blitzing past Galway like they did to Dublin 12 months ago.

The Cork hurlers can't do anything about the bookies' odds, though it does seem inexplicable that Galway are 3/1 outsiders for Saturday. There are shades of last year's All-Ireland final when it was hard to find anyone tipping Tipp. And we all know how that went.

The Tribe have momentum and a clever game plan, one of the best young forwards in the country in Jason Rabbitte, an experienced manager and an All-Ireland-winning core. They've all beaten Cork in their last five championship meetings from 2009 to 2022.

The whole country is just waiting for Cork to fall flat on their faces. 

Ben O'Connor has adapted a siege mentality to a degree, the snarling win-at-all-costs mentality he brought as a player coming through in many of his interviews.

O'Connor and his selectors aren't one bit worried about being perceived as having a hard edge. Cork need to do whatever it takes to get past Galway and, if they do, whoever emerges from Limerick-Clare on Sunday.

Nothing else matters.