As Goodison Park enters its final years it was fitting it should get a night like this.
No-one knows what the future holds during the countdown to a new life on the Liverpool waterfront.
But one thing is certain: Premier League football will return to this historic stadium next year.
That it was ever in so much doubt is shameful. That is another issue, however.
On Thursday night the Grand Old Lady rocked and bounced, it erupted and exploded, it was a chaos of noise and emotion and by the end the air stung with the taste and smell of the smoke bombs that have come to symbolise the passion and desire of a fanbase that refused to give up.
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After Dominic Calvert-Lewin - a striker whose personal despair has been entwined with his club's agony during a wretched season of injury for the talisman - sealed one of the most dramatic, and important, comebacks in Everton's modern history, the sky turned blue. For the last 10 minutes watching this frenetic match was like watching football through a social media filter.
It is some twist that such a forgettable season should end with an occasion as memorable as this. Everyone who was at Goodison Park to watch this remarkable victory over Crystal Palace unfold will have the images of the final minutes and their aftermath seared into their mind's eye - whether they were on the hallowed turf celebrating at the end or in the stands chanting and cheering to every word of every beloved song.
It always had the potential to be a special night, but no-one could have written a script with the agony and ecstasy delivered over these 100 incredible minutes.
For so long the night looked destined to be the latest cruel punishment inflicted in a season of pain.
There was the frustration Jean-Phillipe Mateta's header brought as he headed in an Eberechi Eze free kick - another goal conceded from a cross after the three against Brentford on Sunday, every one a painful reminder of how dear the cost has been of losing of Yerry Mina to another injury for these final games.
There was anger inspired by Jordan Ayew's goal, coming just seconds after an over-the-ball lunge on Anthony Gordon saw him given a yellow card and not a red one. VAR checked the decision and ruled it was "reckless". Reckless, but not worthy of a sending off, apparently.
But then up stepped Michael Keane, lighting the touch paper, re-igniting this sensational crowd and giving the kiss of life to a cause that had appeared lost.
Then there was Richarlison. Another bobbled finish to add to his crucial haul of goals in recent weeks - the last-minute leveller at home to Leicester City, the winner against Chelsea among them.
And then there was Calvert-Lewin. His goal on Sunday, his first since the opening weeks of a campaign that started with such promise, came from such a deft touch it sparked questions over whether he could, really, claim it. There was no doubt tonight though. His thumping finish the most valuable of any of the dozens of goals he has scored in royal blue.
The stage for an historic night had been set hours before history was made.
Two hours before the players arrived at the ground, as journalists, photographers and cameramen waited to be let into the Goodison Road media entrance, what was to become a sea of blue was an ocean of calm. Outside the Winslow Hotel the UFC star Meatball Molly climbed a ladder to help hang an Up The Toffees banner above the door. On Sunday, before the Brentford game, the crowd had cheered as Speedo Mick rode the back of a police van through the waiting crowds. On Thursday evening, she was the star who shone amid the pre-match nerves.
In what was to become a familiar experience later in events, the air on Goodison Road stung with smoke for 10 minutes before the Everton players reached the stadium.
Tears streamed down faces, eyes squinted and vocal chords grew sore as thousands of Blues sunk into the latest display of passion from a fanbase that would not be cowed by injuries, bad decisions and fear of the unthinkable.
When the coaches carrying staff and players passed the ticket office for a split second a gap emerged between the vehicles. The bright sunshine that had previously shone down Winslow Street, scorching those under its gaze, was gone. The sky stayed dark. Between the silhouettes of the coaches, and to the chorus of Spirit of the Blues, the sun had turned blue. Later it would be the moon.
No-one in Blue, whether they have been at Goodison Park, Vicarage Road, the King Power Stadium or Finch Farm - in body or spirit - in recent weeks will really want to remember this season. Everyone is glad it is now over. And all will sleep better tonight, relieved Premier League football will return to Goodison Park next season and perhaps even allowing themselves to dream of better things to come as the club builds towards a new future at a modern home.
For weeks social media, normally such a toxic space, has seen Blues unite to plot and plan emphatic, important displays that no-one doubts have helped generate the points needed for Everton to secure safety.
If any part of this season is to be remembered beyond the scenes of this outrageous win, it needs to be the spirit of this famous fanbase uniting through cause and rallying under the leadership of a new manager, who as his name was sung long after the game, is on his way to becoming a new hero in a wonderful, old, historic arena - an arena that will again host the very best come August.
