More than 100,000 lads and lassies had a dream.
As they plotted their routes home on Thursday, it lay in tatters and may never be realised.
The fact of the matter is Rangers, with their resources in relation to the teams they’d beaten along the way, should have never been in Seville.
But having got there and been a goal up with 21 minutes to play, looking on as Eintracht Frankfurt hoisted that trophy stung more than the sunburn those fans would have been feeling on their long trudge back to reality.
History was theirs to grab but they couldn’t hold on to it and that was tougher to take than if they’d played a Barcelona and been stuffed 3-0.
And yet, this was no hard luck story. The Germans were the better team for most of the 90 minutes, created and missed the most glaring chances, and in Filip Kostic had a player who gave James Tavernier the hardest time he’d endured in the competition.
Despite all that, Gio van Bronckhorst ’s men were better, braver and stronger in the extra period. If Ryan Kent’s shot is a few centimetres higher and eludes Kevin Trapp’s lunging leg, the trophy would be sitting inside Ibrox by now.
If.
If Borna Barisic hadn’t cramped up, he’d have taken a spot kick. Aaron Ramsey might not have.
If.
If Alfredo Morelos had been fit, it would have been a different Rangers team and performance. If Kemar Roofe had been fit to play for longer than he did.
If.
But the Germans also had their ‘what if’ moments. It’s just that they don’t matter now. Not when they collected the prize courtesy of five sensational penalties.
So fair play to Frankfurt and what now for Rangers?
Lifting themselves off the floor for the challenge Hearts will possess in the Scottish Cup Final is the immediate priority. Van Bronckhorst has big decisions to make. Can he send the same group of players in again? Some of them like Tavernier and Connor Goldson will play, undoubtedly, but does he go with the likes of Steven Davis, who should still have the legs as he came off the bench on Wednesday, and lends so much composure to this team and yet always seems to be further down the pecking order than he should be?
Young Alex Lowry must be a contender. Roofe, too. He only got a few minutes in Seville, but made an impact.
But what happens after the final whistle blows on Saturday is even more crucial as they face up to life, potentially without McGregor and Davis’ experience and almost certainly without Goldson. Ramsey will leave with his head bowed, Amad Diallo will also head back south, having also spectacularly failed to live up to the hype.
Recruitment, then, will be everything and with no guaranteed Champions League income, Rangers are going to have to box clever.
And then there’s Alfredo. He remains the most important player this team has in terms of the way Rangers play.
Going into the final year of his contract, do Rangers stick or twist?
For the first time in his life at Ibrox, Morelos actually looks settled and happy. He definitely marches to the beat of his own drum, as witnessed by his wandering around with the punters in the Seville sunshine for most of the past week.
If Rangers can get Morelos on a contract extension it might be their deal of the summer.
There’s that word again. If.
As they headed home yesterday, players and fans alike would have added one word to it.
Only. If only.
