WIGAN upset the odds – and an already severely disgruntled Manchester City support – to lift the Budweiser FA Cup.
Now everyone at the club with its roots firmly entrenched in Lancashire tradition and values, and imbued with the grit and guile of a handful of Scots, is focused on winning the prize that really matters, Barclays Premier League survival.
The fallguys in their cup victory hold the distinction of being the only side to lift the hallowed trophy, then fall to relegation. That was in 1926, before owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan's oil reserves were even discovered.
Roberto Mancini's team already have a Champions League place secured as runners-up to Manchester United in the title race, though that is unlikely to act as an adequate insurance policy against the beleaguered Italian being removed from his position, with Malaga's Manuel Pellegrini waiting in the wings.
It is the future of Roberto Martinez, the Wigan manager, which is shrouded in much more doubt, though. It is other chairmen chasing him rather than his present one hunting him, which makes what happens next the matter of so much conjecture.
If Wigan can retain their top -flight place, the man who previously rejected the opportunity to move to Aston Villa and Celtic is much more likely to continue to build on the foundations he has put in place at the DW Stadium.
The players he has assembled, including the coterie of Scots led by captain Gary Caldwell and Shaun Maloney, show that they are willing to strain every sinew for their manager. Contrast that with the ugly performance tendered at Wembley by the City players, who appeared to have given up believing there is any reason to try to impress dead-man-walking Mancini.
Martinez's recognised talent is the ability to, in Premier League terms, cheaply form a collective which overachieves, whether it be pulling off late Houdini acts when the trapdoor to the Championship beckons or, as at the weekend, defying logic to land a major piece of silverware.
The injury-time goal from Ben Watson, a man Martinez sent on with 10 minutes of the final remaining, owed more to good planning than good fortune. The precise corner delivered by Maloney was met by a perfectly timed run, a scoring header and the greatest day in the club's 81-year history.
Contrast that with the disarray which enveloped City after Pablo Zabaleta collected a second yellow card for another crude challenge on the effervescent Callum McManaman, the Argentinian hurling a few choice barbs at his team-mates as he departed.
The fact the City side which started cost more than £180m to assemble stood for nothing when pitted against the spirit of a Wigan team which cost under £13m.
The £500,000 paid to Hamilton Academical two years ago for James McArthur is a perfect example of the adage it's not what you spend, but what you spend it on that matters.
When one team wants to win and the other believes they should win, there will only be one victor, a truism which appears to have been lost among the plethora of fancy cars, bling and advisors attached to the City slickers.
Now Scotland midfielder McArthur, who tirelessly patrolled the right-hand side of the pitch for Wigan, has something money can not buy – a 2013 FA Cup winner's medal. "We came to the final as underdogs, but we believed," was his simple explanation for a result being compared to Wimbledon's victory over Liverpool in 1988. However, they stand comparison only for the scoreline. The manner of Wigan's victory was much more cultured than that of the Crazy Gang.
McArthur added: "Everyone in the changing room felt we could win this match, and we did. I'd also say we did it convincingly. We created numerous problems for City, and our gaffer's tactics are brilliant. He is a major reason why we won the match. We combated what they do, but we also have good players. Look at Callum McManaman. He was man of the match, and brilliant.
"I was playing right behind him and I just kept giving him the ball. Every time I did, he got at (Gael) Clichy and created all sorts of problems for him."
Listening to McArthur, one could not help but feel it all seemed a little surreal to him. He has come a long way since his days at Hamilton, but the feet which have carried him on this amazing journey have never left the ground.
"Coming from a small club such as Hamilton, you are just happy to be playing in the FA Cup final," he said. "To win it is incredible. You are out there after you win, and trying to take it all in. You feel like crying at the same time as smiling. It was very emotional. Unbelievable."
It was also somewhat familiar, although only on a personal level as McArthur and the man who preceded him in moving to Wigan from Hamilton, James McCarthy, recognised as they found themselves drawn together amid the pandemonium which marked the conclusion of the game and the beginning of the celebrations.
"The first time when we were really recognised was scoring against Kilmarnock in the Scottish Cup," said McArthur. "We got a wee picture together at the end of Saturday's final, and it was the same pose and picture from that night. We wanted to get that photo because this is extra special for myself and James. We are so close as friends, and coming from a small club like Hamilton to winning the FA Cup is amazing."
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