A caller to Jimmy Magee’s show on RTÉ Radio after their Liam MacCarthy victory over Kilkenny in 1998 said: "When the Brazil team of the 70s played soccer, that’s the way soccer should be played, and when Offaly play hurling, that’s the way hurling should be played."
"The Brazil of hurling," shot back the Memory Man.
Among those stars was Kevin Martin, the current manager won two All-Irelands in an Offaly team that was more renowned for its skill than its shape.
The mid 90s vintage, filled with Dooleys, Pilkingtons, Whelehans and Troys, won in style.
Offaly have since struggled to find those heights, a brilliant victory in the semi-final over then-champions Cork in 2000 was the last blow-out of a freakishly talented team.
Dark days followed.
The winners slowly dispersed and the county could not muster the talent to compete with the new style of hurling that Kilkenny produced.
The rest of the country wondered what happened to the Faithful County, managers came and went, making, at best, small gains along the way.
In 2014 Ger Loughnane said: "They're the only team in the modern era where you still see players with fat legs, bellies and arses."
It was becoming an issue. The county worked through two managers in the space of two years, Tipp’s Eamonn Kelly and Kevin Ryan of Waterford, feeling they had got as much out of the players available as they could, left after one season each.
I know it's only January, I know it's only the league, I know Dublin hadn't a full team, I know, I know, I know.....but I still have tears in my eyes. Kevin Martin is a man and his team played like men.
— Michael Duignan (@DuignanMichael) January 27, 2018
During Kelly's time, in 2016, Offaly beat Kerry in a championship game in Tullamore.
They needed a tally of 3-12 from Joe Bergin and Shane Dooley to get past the Kingdom, who looked to have better hurlers on the field.
When Ryan departed after their 24-point defeat to Waterford citing a lack of "local and traditional support", the panel looked to be back at ground zero, again.
In came Martin and Offaly, in their new Faithful Fields training centre, went to work.
Two Bord na Mona Walsh Cup wins over Westmeath were followed up with a comprehensive Allianz League victory over Dublin in Croke Park last night.
The skills were there, sure, but more notable was Offaly's ability to keep up with and surpass the Dubs in the fitness stakes.
Offaly have beaten Dublin in the opening round of the Allianz League! Here’s our GAANOW full-time highlights! pic.twitter.com/zIrj1Xnivi
— The GAA (@officialgaa) January 27, 2018
Last night’s man of the match Oisin Kelly said: "We done savage work the last couple of years but this year we’ve really upped it. The work we’ve put in, we fear no-one."
It’s a refreshing line to hear coming from the county and Martin himself acknowledges that there’s a long way to go.
He told RTÉ Sport: "You are going to meet hurlers that are better than you someday but if you are as fit as them and you can run with them you have a chance.
"You can spoil them or whatever but if you can’t run, if you are not fit enough, you’ve no chance.
"Especially in the modern game, we’re running everywhere. We’ve still a good bit to do but we’re getting there."
For years Offaly were not even competitive in the majority of games they played.
If Martin can build on the strong foundations he has laid at the start of his tenure, it will go a long way to getting back in the conversation.