Donegal manager Jim McGuinness said the intensity and heat of the Ulster SFC makes victory all the sweeter as he savoured a massive semi-final win over Tyrone.
McGuinness's men edged out the Red Hand in an exhausting extra-time battle at Celtic Park to set up a provincial final showdown with Armagh in a fortnight's time.
Back at the helm for a second spell, McGuinness has his eyes on another Ulster title - and perhaps even a crack at the Sam Maguire. However he insisted nothing can be taken for granted in a ferociously competitive landscape.
"That's really what it's all about and we'll be back to ground zero in two weeks' time. That's why we love the Ulster championship. If you can eventually get over the line, that's why it's so special. I'm sure the Armagh lads will be thinking exactly the same as us.
"It's going to be a really tough battle and everybody has to prepare for that."
Reflecting on the passionate support his team enjoyed in the stands, McGuinness added: "It means everything. There was a chant for Donegal there in the last couple of minutes of injury time in extra-time.
"You could just sense that energy and listen, that's what it's all about. We want that for our supporters. But we also want it for the players. This is what it's all about. It's the players being part of big days and trying to get over the line on big days.
"So that part of it was brilliant, but as I say we'll be back to ground zero tomorrow."
McGuinness had sympathy for Tyrone who poured a massive amount of energy into their performance.
"When it is like that you do really want to come out the right side of it," he added. "That was a tough one for Tyrone to take. They put so much into it. They were so good for so long and it became just like a war of attrition really and a game of will.
" They're a team that's won an All-Ireland a couple of years ago. You could see that early in the match. They knew their way around the pitch. They knew how to control the ball, they asked the right questions of us. We had to find a good old couple of solutions to try and negate that in the second half."
Tyone joint-manager Brian Dooher admitted fatigue was a factor as his side ran out of gas but he was loathe to criticise their efforts.
"It's disappointing the way it ended up but I can't fault the players, they put in a big shift," he said.
"They gave everything they had but just came up short at the end of it. A bit of tiredeness caught up in the legs.
"We have to give credit to Donegal too. They finished stronger, we didn't finish as strong for whatever reason. It is tough on the bodies to recover, to get injuries cleared up and boys carrying knocks. It's tough, it's challenging but I can't fault the payer. They put in an enormous effort, it wasn't enough at the end of it but it wasn't far away."
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