The question is concealed in their name, but Howe of Fife are not interested in wondering how on earth they managed to finish second in their quest for championship glory during the past two seasons.
Instead, they have launched their new campaign with a restless desire to avoid being the bridesmaids any longer. To date, they have played five matches in the Scottish Championship League A and collected a maximum haul of 25 points to establish a decent advantage over their nearest rivals Falkirk and Hamilton.
Garry Horne, Howe's director of rugby, is not inclined to blow his own trumpet. On the contrary, he has spent year after year working away at the coalface, encouraging new generations of youngsters to develop a love for the oval ball, while he and his fellow officials have created a platform whereby their cherished club can aspire to the top flight at some stage in the future.
As Horne has acknowledged, it is a difficult balancing act for those in the amateur game and he should know: his son, Peter, is now one of the country's most highly-regarded stand-offs and that process would not have happened had he clung to his roots in Scotland's lower leagues.
"It is one of the things which drives us on: the thought that if we could gain promotion and move up a league, we would stop losing so many players [to other clubs]," said Horne. "You can't stop youngsters being ambitious and wanting to push themselves and that attitude should be encouraged. But what you definitely don't want is a situation where guys are leaving clubs just to keep benches warm elsewhere and that is a massive issue for Scottish rugby.
"We also have to work to make sure the games are as competitive as possible. It has not been bad this season: we were pushed all the way by Hamilton in the opening fixture [before Howe edged home 27-25] and we performed really well to gain a bonus-point win [30-18] away to Whitecraigs. But we also beat Greenock Wanderers 108-0 and I am not sure what either side ends up taking from a result like that."
Howe's bucolic players have savoured some wonderful moments in the Scottish Cup throughout the tournament's history, including their unforgettable 27-17 triumph over Glasgow Hawks in 2009. Such occasions are to be savoured, but Horne is not so naive as to think his current charges could produce that level of performance week in, week out. Instead, the priority must lie in building up numbers and enhancing ski ll levels while advancing through the domestic structure gradually, and creating a sustainable environment.
"Ideally, I would like to see the day where we could keep our best talent here and be a force in the top tier, but I'm aware that isn't going to happen overnight, so we have to be realistic," said Horne.
These grassroots bastions are not asking for favours from anybody. They are striving to succeed on their own terms and Howe of Fife are in the vanguard.
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