Football's more than a mere game and is pure entertainment for the masses when it comes to the likes of the World Cup – remember Italia 90?
That was the year when Jack Charlton’s Ireland had the entire population decked out in green and even stole the Pope’s heart on the way to an unprecedented run to the quarter-finals.
On Monday, 25 June, the entire country took at least a half-day off, while everything - except pub telly-watching and pint-sipping - came to a halt as Ireland faced Romania for a historic place in the last eight.
It was rock ‘n’ roll, showbiz, soap opera, and Hollywood drama all rolled into one. The ultimate night out - and it was in the middle of the afternoon. We lapped it up like there was no tomorrow.
Sure, tomorrow can look after itself.
As George Hamilton famously noted before Dave O’Leary’s celebrated spot-kick that ultimately decided the game after two hours and no goals: "A nation holds its breath."
Niall Quinn remembers it well. After all, he was playing that day. And he’ll be reliving it all - along with the surviving members of the squad - at Italia 90: An Evening With The Greatest Football Team at Dublin’s RDS this Friday, 14 March.
It’s set to be a memorable night recalling an unforgettable time and so many magic moments. For instance, the game against Romania and that penalty shoot-out.
"It was an extraordinary moment, but I tell you it was such a tough game," Niall Quinn recalls. "120 minutes, and it was the hottest day of the World Cup, and we played in the middle of the afternoon.
"It was all about getting fluids back into and that kind of stuff. There was an exhaustion that kind of stymied the joy, the jumping up and down. We were just flattened out.
"Everybody just gave their all that day. Their absolute all. And I can remember watching the penalties and thinking: ‘Oh my God! I hope it doesn’t go further.’
"That was because - as they were being taken – Mick Byrne was rubbing my calves to get rid of cramp in case I had to take a penalty.
"It was as hot and as tough and exhilarating a game as I’ve ever played in. Because you also had to go through the emotion of the penalties. The uncertainty of it all.
"And I remember being absolutely flummoxed. We all were."
And while everyone back home went berserk after the penalty shoot-out win, the players and coaching staff were physically and mentally shattered and went back to their hotel for a rest.
Niall recalls: "I remember Jack Charlton saying you can have a beer or two in the hotel and nobody wanted one! That’ll give you some idea. That team wouldn’t have said that very often.
"And I remember Dave O’Leary and I went for a walk. We were back in the hotel by seven o’clock! We went for a walk and didn’t eat with the team, because we saw a little Italian restaurant while we were out, so Dave and myself went in for a meal."
What they witnessed inside the restaurant didn’t just put the World Cup win against Romania in perspective, it gave them a moment of self-reflection that’s remained with Niall Quinn ever since.
"When we got in, one of the Romanian players - the captain - was there with his wife, with two armed guards, who were minding him as it was still a communist country, behind the Iron Curtain.
"That was his reward as captain - that he could bring his wife for dinner while all the other players were left back in their hotel.
"I often think of it. We had a great life and whatever, you know?, and this fella was allowed to have dinner with his wife while two soldiers were there to make sure he didn’t make a run for it."
Italia 90: An Evening With The Greatest Football Team, RDS Concert Hall, Dublin Friday March 14
Tickets available from www.rebelarmyevents.com or google Italia 90 RDS
VIP tickets are available for fans who'd like to hang out with the players before the show and during the interval in a special private bar.
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