If any Manchester United or Manchester City fans ventured down to Boundary Park in search of a football fix on Saturday, they will have been met with a matchday experience completely alien to Old Trafford or the Etihad.
For a start, the blustery January conditions meant the first thing they will have seen upon taking their seats ahead of Oldham vs Rochdale was the four corner flags at the self-proclaimed 'coldest ground in the country' blowing in four different directions.
As United and City occupy the top four places in English football, Oldham and Rochdale are in the bottom seven of the 92 league sides. If this fixture takes place in League Two next season, both set of fans will be delighted, but the 0-0 draw played out showed plenty is still to be done to ensure that happens.
This wasn't about the result, though, or even the football. It was about the future of both clubs.
Dale have had a number of postponements and want to move back clear of danger, while Oldham began the day seven points adrift of safety at the foot of the league. Make no mistake, both of these sides were fighting for survival to simply stay in a league pyramid dominated by their glamorous neighbours down the road but a world away from their multi-millionaire superstars.
Oldham's decline in the last few years has been well documented, with owner Abdallah Lemsagam finally agreeing to sell the club after months of protests, controversies and a lot of defeats. If he hadn't turned to club legend John Sheridan this weekend for his tenth managerial appointment in four years, the atmosphere at Boundary Park on Saturday could have been toxic.
But Sheridan has an aura at Boundary Park, and his previous five spells in charge have given the despondent Oldham support the tiniest glimmer of hope that they can pull off the greatest of escapes this time. He says it would be his greatest managerial achievement, and it's not an exaggeration to say if Sheridan hadn't been appointed, most fans would be resigned to relegation already.
But Sheridan is back, and so are the fans. Hundreds who have stayed away under Lemsagam's reign ended their boycotts and returned to Boundary Park for the first time in years, willing to back the team in their fight to stay up, hoping Lemsagam sticks to his word and sells up. Many missed kick-off as the turnstiles couldn't cope with the demand to get in.
That made for a party atmosphere not seen at this ground for years - probably not since the last time Sheridan masterminded a great escape in 2017. His welcome onto the pitch before the match encouraged a deafening roar rarely heard in this part of Greater Manchester, and 'Sheridan's Blue and White Army' was a regular tune in Latics' songbook in a raucous Rochdale Road End.
With 8199 fans inside the ground, the biggest attendance in four-and-a-half years, and coincidentally since Sheridan was last in charge, any neutrals will have been fooled into thinking this is a normal matchday experience for either club. In fact, it's been the opposite in recent years, but this is the impact someone like Sheridan has, coupled with a local derby at a perfect time and Lemsagam's confirmation he will walk away.
Maybe both sets of fans were taking the opportunity to actually enjoy football again, choosing to forget the realities for 90 minutes on the rare occasion they get the chance. Dale were relegated last season, and staved off a hostile takeover in the summer. The company, Morton House, who were blocked from that attempt, have now launched legal action against the club this week, with uncertainty returning to Spotland.
In response, Dale's Supporter's Trust have started crowdfunding to fight that action, and around 100 fans of both clubs walked from Spotland to Boundary Park before this game in solidarity and to raise awareness of the desperate off-field issues still threatening each side.
A competitive start to the game was halted for a 20-minute stoppage due to a medical emergency in the main stand, but thankfully the individual concerned was taken to hospital in a stable condition, and the clubs were welcomed back out to a packed and noisy ground, now full as the queues outside were given time to get in.
Unfortunately, the quality on show didn't match that of the supporters, as a tepid first half saw neither side register a meaningful shot on target.
Dale were the better side, though, and they stepped up after the break to go mightily close through Paul Downing, Corey O'Keeffe and Conor Grant.
Oldham were just about standing firm, though, and were up for the fight more than previous games. Regular stoppages for flares thrown on the pitch from home fans were an attempt to rally their side, with plenty of flashpoints and fiery tackles worthy of a local derby.
Ultimately, neither side had the killer edge to find a winner, which is why they are both where they are. Dale will be confident of moving up the table rather than down, however, while Latics showed they might yet have the fight in them to survive.
This draw lifted them off the foot of the table, even if they remain seven points from safety. It's a start to the latest 'Shezzurection' survival bid, with next week's clash at bottom side Scunthorpe a must-win.
The names of two great Oldham managers adorn two of the four stands at Boundary Park - Joe Royle and Jimmy Frizzell. Sheridan could lay claim to getting similar treatment if he can achieve the improbable outcome of keeping them in the league in the next 20 games. The extent of his task was made clear on Saturday.
Rochdale's big following will be hopeful of a positive future if the latest legal action can be averted. They travelled in numbers, got behind their team, and played their part in an enjoyable Saturday afternoon. This was showing of the best that Manchester's football league clubs have to offer, even if the football could have been improved.
If these fans wanted world-class football, though, they wouldn't be here. The fact they were was the enduring appeal of supporting your local club through thick and thin. They just want a team putting the effort in and representing their town. They got that at the very least.
If Lemsagam was watching, wherever he was on Saturday, he will have seen the club he thought he bought in the first place. There is a passionate fanbase, willing to back the team if the ambition is there. They won't accept the decline he has overseen, though, and it's telling the fans have only returned when he's finally agreed to sell. They will ensure this is a promise he doesn't break.
Saturday afternoon was undeniable proof that the dwindling attendances, protests and apathy that has grown since he arrived is entirely his doing.
Lemsagam's chances of salvaging his reputation in these parts is long gone, but he can at least pass the club on to a better custodian. If he is persuading potential buyers of the potential Oldham has, he can point them in the direction of this atmosphere, and this passion. There is life in this old club yet, and life in lower league football in Manchester.
These clubs just need to be put in the right hands.
