The raw emotion of what West Ham achieved on Thursday night in The Netherlands - and what it means to the Hammers' fan base - is still there for all to see.
Across the spectrum on forums like KUMB and various other social media platforms the sheer delight in a famous victory has been evident everywhere.My son, who's a strapping 6'1" 41 year-old and not accustomed to shedding tears easily, unashamedly announced to anyone who cared to listen on Twitter that he cried when Pablo Formals' late, late goal hit the back of the net. From what I've seen and heard he wasn't crying alone.
A place in a European final is secure! The agonies of this most traumatic of seasons in the Premier League, while certainly not disappearing entirely, have receded into the background. We're off to Prague and the culmination of what has been a remarkable European adventure this season.
14 games to get here – 13 victories on the way – including both semi-final legs – plus just a single draw against Gent to underline our dominance in this competition. I'm not interested in who the opposition might have been on the way. That's an incredible record for the team and for David Moyes to preside over.
Of course it will all count for very little if we allow Fiorentina to spoil the party on 7 June. But such is the focus and determination of this squad and this manager, the odds on us collecting our first European trophy in 58 years must surely be in our favour.
All the back-handed whispers and malicious rumours of Moyes losing the dressing room and the players making up their own ‘alternative' tactics on the pitch look a long way off the mark now. The multitude of videos doing the rounds of players and management dancing on the pitch and back in the dressing room is a treat to behold.
What for me made Thursday's victory even sweeter was that it was achieved amid a backdrop of quite bizarre and shameful leaks.
Spiteful and untimely briefings around the search for a new Director of Football, knowing the speculation it would generate around Moyes' continued tenure at the club, plus the revelation that the Players' Awards would be cancelled this year because of our poor form in the Premier League.
If they were put out there to undermine the manager, and there are many who believe exactly that, then they failed miserably. Why that stuff made it's way into the public domain – through familiar channels it has to be said – is baffling in the extreme.
What goes on in the minds of our hierarchy sometimes is beyond baffling. Right now though the dark realms of the West Ham boardroom is an insignificance. David Moyes has proper football matters to concentrate his mind. A final to plan. A trophy to lift.
We as supporters have a little bit longer at least to bask in the glory of victory – and what better way to top off a fantastic few days than to put a few goals past BFS and his Leeds United side on Sunday – and maybe help doom his rescue mission to failure. Does it get any better?
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