Never have Rangers won the league championship in more dramatic fashion – needing to defeat Hibernian, Gers were doing that, but they required Motherwell to take something from Celtic at Fir Park.
With two minutes of the season remaining, Celtic too were winning 1-0, meaning they were on the verge of claiming the title, and indeed, the helicopter delivering the trophy was circling around Fir Park.
But the flight plan was hastily rerouted to Easter Road, with Scott McDonald netting twice to spark utter bedlam in Leith.
In the Rangers XI that day was Michael Ball, and he recalled this week on the Official Rangers Podcast: “Before the game kicked-off, we knew we were going to need some luck. It was a very cagey game, and probably wasn’t one of the best games you’ll ever watch.
“Hibs weren’t really pressing us, and as a full-back, I was receiving the ball quite a lot from the goalkeeper and from the centre-halves, and you were just sort of standing there waiting for an opportunity for a pass.
“We were obviously happy with the 1-0 lead, and we just wanted to make sure we didn’t make a mistake.
“You don’t want to be doubting situations where if one of us made a slip or a bad mistake and Hibs go on and score, and that would be our dreams over.
Having heard the first, deafening roar from the Rangers support, the players knew the news for them was sensational, but Ball revealed when the second roar went up, despite again knowing it was positive, the players didn’t quite know what it signified.
He continued: “The ball came round to my area and went out for a throw. Then we heard the [second] roar – you were looking around and looking at the fans and not really knowing what they’re trying to say to you.
“We probably thought the game was over, so we just had to make sure we didn’t slip-up and concede our lead.
“I remember looking over at Barry Ferguson and Alex Rae and they were hugging and bouncing, and I’m thinking, ‘hang on lads, we’ve still got a game to finish here!'”
The celebrations for the Rangers fans went on for days, and the players too milked the moment for all its worth.
Ball added: “It was great to be a part of. The changing room was bouncing – but we were shattered and I think we were just running on adrenaline!
“That was a fantastic moment for us, and personally for myself, having been there before when titles were being celebrated, I’d never been a part of it so it was great to finally be involved and have contributed to the success.”