Kitted out in distinctive red and black, the team's massive fan base has been responsible for some of the largest match attendances in GAA history.

Although, since the last decade of the twentieth century, the team has had a barren patch at senior level, despite various successes at underage level, in 2010 Down showed signs of improving by gaining promotion to the National Football League Division One and reaching the All-Ireland Senior Football final — narrowly losing by one point to Cork.

[2][3] Down was not regarded as a football stronghold when Queen's University won the 1958 Sigerson Cup, and some of its leading players turned their thoughts to Down's county team dilemma.

Down won the 1959 Ulster Senior Football Championship (SFC) title with six inter-changeable forwards who introduced off-the-ball running and oddities such as track-suits.

Defeating Laois by a single point, and with Dan Gordon being sent off, Down progressed to the last round of the qualifiers, in which the team was paired with Wexford, a game held at Croke Park.

Down had Dan Gordon's suspension removed, but awful conditions and a poor Down performance resulted in a defeat to Wexford by a scoreline of 2–13 to 0–12.

This system has cost Down teams of the twenty-first century, with the introduction of more negative tactics to quell forward lines, with a massive emphasis on blanket defence.

1971: Seán O'Neill 1972: Seán O'Neill2nd 1975: Colm McAlarney 1978: Colm McAlarney2nd 1981: Paddy Kennedy 1983: Liam Austin, Greg Blaney 1990: James McCartan Jnr 1991: Conor Deegan, Barry Breen, Ross Carr, Greg Blaney2nd 1994: Miceal Magill, Paul Higgins, DJ Kane, Gregory McCartan, Greg Blaney3rd, James McCartan Jnr2nd, Mickey Linden 2010: Brendan McVeigh, Daniel Hughes, Martin Clarke, Benny Coulter