AS if being left out of the contingent sent to Seville wasn’t bad enough, the instruction from the editor on the morning of the game to run the rule over the telly coverage put paid to any hope of some consolatory San Miguels to at least get into the spirit. Despite the impression you may get from what you are about to read.
Still, the assignment was a little more appealing given that BT Sport were charged with providing the coverage, and even without the brilliant ‘Batcam’ that has so enriched matches at Ibrox during this incredible Europa League run, they did their usual bang-up job on a huge night for Rangers and for the broadcaster.
Ultimately, BT Sport delivered, even if Rangers just fell short.
The pre-match build-up kicked off at half 6, by which point the stadium was already looking lively. Just as excitable was the nation's sweetheart, Ally McCoist, who was struggling to contain himself next to presenter Darrell Currie, who was trying his best to keep a lid on the Rangers legend.
It was the first line-up surprise of the evening to see McCoist utilised in the punditry gantry rather than next to Rory Hamilton during the match. A bold move, as they say. How would it pan out?
Moving down the pre-game line, Kenny Miller was chipping in now and then, while Owen Hargreaves was there, presumably to provide the odd titbit about the German opposition. For the most part though, he was giving off similar vibes to Ashley Cole on the extreme outskirts of the Roma team photo.
At pitchside, the consummate Emma Dodds was providing insight to the line-ups alongside Alex Rae, who had come dressed as a Rangers manager, sporting an official club tie. The traditional brown brogues were surely just out of shot.
It was a long old lead-time into the big kick-off, so to whet the appetite, the producers had lined up a nice meander down memory lane with Derek Johnstone and Alex MacDonald, big DJ and Doddie reminding us of the part they played for the Barca Bears of '72 and the omens that pointed to another European triumph 50 years on.
German opposition defeated in the semi-finals, the big finale taking place in Spain...the watching Rangers fans would take any pointers towards another glory night that they could.
There was a montage showing the route that the class of '22 had negotiated to get to this point, hammering home the remarkable nature of the run, and also that anything was possible once the action got underway.
The enormity of the occasion was never in doubt, but the emotional undercurrent was hammered home with nods to both Walter Smith and Jimmy Bell.
"I believe he's here tonight", said a visibly moved McCoist.
If this was being live streamed into the Rangers dressing room, Frankfurt were going to be up against it.
When the action finally got underway, it wasn’t only Rangers manager Giovanni Van Bronckhorst who plumped for the same line-up as the semi-final, with the familiar team of lead commentator Hamilton, Rae and Stephen Craigan on hand to steer us through a fraught 90 minutes. At least.
The trio tried not to sound too alarmed during the opening 20 minutes, despite the fact the Rangers players looked spooked enough for the lot of us. Craigan even provided a few insightful points on what was going wrong tactically for Van Bronckhorst’s side too, picking up on the issues Rangers were having in midfield that were swinging the game in Frankfurt’s favour.
A period of Rangers pressure towards the end of the half perked Rae up a bit too, whose voice was getting higher in direct correlation with how advanced his team were on the pitch.
The half-time analysis was sparse due to advert breaks, consisting mostly of expressions of relief that referee Slavko Vincic declined to haul up John Lundstram for a high boot early on that burst open the head of Frankfurt captain Sebastian Rode. The general gist though that there was more to come from Rangers.
What was noticeable was that the effusive praise of the atmosphere from pre-match had tailed off among the commentators, a sign that it was the Frankfurt fans who were the livelier, just as their team had been.
There was some honesty too when surprise was expressed at Frankfurt not being awarded what looked a clear penalty as Connor Goldson tripped Rafael Borre. Former official Peter Walton as on hand to agree that Rangers had got away with one.
Moments later, Rangers had the breakthrough, with pictures of jubilant fans the backdrop for Joe Aribo’s big moment.
The tension now on the pitch and in the stands was reflected in the commentary box, and both the gantry and the Rangers end were deflated as Goldson left a low cross and Borre prodded Frankfurt level. Craigan was scathing of the Rangers defender, and rightly so.
Extra-time beckoned. Ryan Kent missed from a yard, denied by Kevin Trapp. Rae almost had an aneurysm. Substitute Aaron Ramsey missed his penalty. Rangers fell short.
Idiosyncrasies of pundits you may find irritating aside though, both BT Sport – and Rangers - can be proud of what they have done during this Europa League adventure.
