These early league encounters are symptomatic of the sleepy early spring where the evenings are lengthening without being any way long and the weather is improving without being any way decent.
Croke Park is the epitome of it too. A crowd of almost 40,000 in February is nothing to turn your nose up at, yet it’s like opening up the brown bag with the Chinese in it, expecting a four-in-one in the box, but there’s no chicken in sight.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with a three-in-one. It’s something to savour.
But it’s not quite a four-in-one.
And so, even as all the stars rolled into town on Saturday night, there’s always going to be something just a little less meaty when the championship is still that bit out of reach.
Not that Dublin weren’t in the humour for battle. They were impressive in their ruthlessness, and any day Con O’Callaghan scores a hatrick, you know you’re in business.
Kerry were always going to come back, and they did, but David Clifford’s blazed point that could and probably should have been a goal said it all. Kerry just weren’t at the races.
And that was rather surprising given the ease at which they dispatched Monaghan and the clutch win over Mayo last weekend.
One of the few positives was another healthy return of 0-5 for Seán Ó Sé, but again a missed free of the Kenmare man in the second half was so untypical of him, and something you feel just won’t happen when the stretch in the evening is worth talking about.
Perhaps Dublin’s hunger for victory was an underplayed factor. They seem to have found their groove after an uninspiring start, and a trip to Derry next weekend will have eyes glancing from all over.
Speaking to RTÉ, Jack O’Connor went as far as to say that Kerry “malfunctioned”.
It’s difficult to figure out whether it was a system error or emotional detachment that was the bigger issue, but a home tie with Tyrone is sure to whet appetites down south next weekend.