They say the body replaces its cells every 10 years, and the Socceroos haven't won a match at a World Cup in 12.
But there are those special neurons that aren't replaced, and deep inside the national psyche, they have been flickering and sparking every four years since 2010, sending a faint echo of what it's like to taste victory at a World Cup rippling through the Socceroos faithful.
On Saturday night, those ripples turned into a crashing, joyous wave, as Australia beat Tunisia 1-0 in Qatar — and here's how the internet reacted.