A good sport story will unite and capture the imaginations of both hardened fans and people who don't normally care.
That fairytale is currently playing out in real life for residents of Redcliffe, north of Brisbane, an area that in the past has struggled with its "Dead-cliffe" image.
The first thing the Dolphins did when they joined the NRL was drop "Redcliffe" from their name — but that hasn't stopped the normally quiet town from getting a little bit euphoric about their local side making the big time.
"We probably couldn't have scripted any better if we tried," Dolphins CEO Terry Reader told the ABC.
Last weekend the team of fresh recruits shone in front of 32,000 fans at Brisbane's Lang Park, not to mention the 567,000 viewers watching on televisions across the country.
The club's most valuable asset, coach Wayne Bennett, was able to mastermind a shock 28-18 victory for the newcomers over the Roosters, pushing Redcliffe residents from excited to ecstatic.
"Everybody's involved in it now," Redcliffe local Graham Sharp said, as he purchased his brand-new Dolphins jersey.
"All our grandkids play for Redcliffe Dolphins and we live behind the stadium," he added.
Kerry Sharp also has a sense of pride for Redcliffe's NRL side, which has been a fixture in the area as a grassroots footy club for 76 years.
"It's been such a vision for the leagues club for so long and it's wonderful to actually see it become real," she said.
Even hardened sports fans have seized their starring role in the Dolphins' fairytale narrative, women like Judi Griffith and Yvonne Campbell.
"Well, I don't like watching it, I don't like seeing people get hurt the way they do," Ms Griffith laughed.
"[But] I was so thrilled that they won on their first game … I hope this is just the beginning," she added.
Ms Campbell agreed: "I think it will contribute a lot to Redcliffe.
"When you're looking out here at the water and just the landscape along here it's lovely. It's untouched," she said.
These women aren't even the NRL's target demographic.
The buy in from the diehard fans has been unprecedented, with the club already boasting more than 20,000 paying members, surpassing many existing franchises – like the St George Illawarra Dragons and Sydney Roosters — that have been around for decades.
Buzz brings sponsors and sponsors bring money
"There's only one club that generates more sponsored revenue than us in the game … our rivals down the road at the Broncos," Mr Reader said.
One of those sponsors is ratepayers, with the local Moreton Bay Regional Council pitching in $400,000 in sponsorship for the team over the next two years.
Mayor Peter Flannery said although the team is no longer named the Redcliffe Dolphins, the city still has a sense of ownership.
"All the players love living here. I'm sure their family and friends are moving here as well," he said.
"The secret is getting out and having an NRL team on the national stage is one way of promoting it to the whole nation."
That marketing is converting to dollars through the door for Louis Murray, who runs an NRL merchandise store on Redcliffe's main street.
"We've sold out [of Dolphins merchandise] four or five times over now," he said.
Compare this with six years ago, when his local bricks and mortar store was barely surviving.
Local business owners aren't afraid to admit the area has struggled economically.
"It was considered Dead-cliffe, 10, 15 years ago," Mr Murray said.
"Now we've got some of the best restaurants around, cafes, it's a lot different to what it was."
A new era
One of the main strip's newest establishments is Era Bar, which opened in November, a modern transformation of the pub formerly owned by rugby league Immortal Arthur Beetson, who started his career at the Redcliffe Dolphins.
Owner Damion Beilby wants to capitalise on that rich history.
"The bar is called Era for a reason," he said.
"The town got a pretty bad rap a decade ago, but since then it's really improving. And things like the NRL team coming to town, it's helped as well.
"Obviously, after the game on the weekend and the win against the Roosters, [interest] really stepped up a notch," he said.
Mr Beilby's also looking forward to a boost in trade for this weekend's first home game at Redcliffe's boutique 10,000-seat stadium, Dolphin Park.
It's a stadium of rare intimacy in modern football, with fans able to get right up close to the players.
Three matches will be played at Dolphin Park this season. Local fan Patrice Power told the ABC tickets for the sell-out match against the Canberra Raiders this afternoon were highly sought after.
"You can see the hype already there's people walking around with their shirts on at the shopping centre, getting all ready for the game," she said.
"We've been living here for 23 years and I've seen the struggles that it's had, the town's had to try and get this team recognised.
"We're all very proud."
Mayor Peter Flannery said it's no surprise the boutique stadium sold out weeks ago, with more than half a million fans expected to watch coverage.
"People don't know our name yet, they don't know where we are. But this is putting us on the map."
