Alistair Banks (38) and his 10-year-old son Jackson "literally jumped for joy" when Manchester City sealed the Premier League title with two stoppage-time goals to defeat Queens Park Rangers 3-2 yesterday.
But for most of the match, the pair were gripped by fear - fear arch nemesis Manchester United would snatch the title from its cross-city rival.
An avid City fan of 20-plus years and a teacher at Clyde Primary School, he rose early and woke his son so they could watch the match together.
They expected City would score early and spend the rest of the match warming up for the big celebration afterwards.
How wrong they were. The ecstasy of a first-half goal soon turned to despair when QPR scored twice.
With United rolling towards a 1-0 win against Sunderland, City's first title in 44 years appeared out of reach.
"It was all going to plan," he said. "We were 1-0 up at halftime and then the second half was just brutal.
"They didn't look like they were going to win. It was one of those days when they couldn't get the ball in.
"But when they scored [their second] ... I just thought they are going to do it, they are going to score again, and they went straight back down the other end and scored.
"It was funny. I don't think I've ever actually literally jumped for joy like that. I was jumping up and down. It was such an amazing feeling."
Sometime during the celebrations, it occurred to Banks he had come full circle. He remembers waking up in the wee hours to watch sport with his father, and in particular, the 1981 FA Cup final replay in which City was defeated 3-2 by Tottenham.
He nurtured a soft spot for City after that match but it was not until his gap year in the UK, when he saw City play live, that his passion developed into something more compelling.
His love of football, but not necessarily of his team of choice, has been transferred to his son, who, he suspects, harbours a love of Arsenal.
"He's coming round. He keeps it under his hat but he's always quite liked Arsenal.
"But he knows I really love it and was as happy as I was. I don't know whether he will be an Arsenal fan next year, because he enjoyed it so much."
