As Notts County's squad of heroes danced away under the Wembley arch, grown men were in tears and strangers hugged one another as the colours of black and white swayed in unison.
Notts fans had arrived in their thousands in the capital armed with hope and expectation but marched back down Wembley Way knowing their status as the world's oldest Football League club had finally been restored.
In typical Notts fashion, they had to do it the hard way in this enthralling playoff final against Chesterfield, having trailed on two occasions to force a penalty shootout which saw Archie Mair prove to be the hero.
The substitute goalkeeper, sent on for Sam Slocombe in the last throes of extra time, saved two spot-kicks before Cedwyn Scott hit the winner, sparking an outpouring of emotion.
The scenes that erupted at the end will live long in the memory for the 20,000 fans in attendance, many of whom will recall the solemn day of 2019 when they tumbled out of the Football League at Swindon.
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But those demons have now been exorcised as a club, once deemed the most stressful to support, was given an opportunity to bask in a rare moment of glory.
One wonders what Jason Turner would have made of it all, the club's former chief executive who died at the end of March, but his presence was felt here due to a huge banner with his face on which added a great degree of poignancy to the celebrations.
Having been the bridesmaids in the playoffs for the last three years, it did feel at times as though Notts were heading for yet another season in the National League.
But led by their brilliant head coach Luke Williams and overseen by excellent owners the Reedtz brothers, the heartache against Harrogate, trauma against Torquay and grief against Grimsby can now be consigned to history.
It would have been a travesty had Notts not achieved promotion given the 107 points they finished the season with would have guaranteed the title in any other year.
But champions Wrexham had offered Notts their support coming into this game with Hollywood star and owner Ryan Reynolds insisting their rivals deserved to go up, a classy gesture on his part.
But Chesterfield, managed by the wily Paul Cook, had threatened to ruin Notts' bid to win the best support act.
They had taken an early lead through Andy Dallas from the penalty spot following a rash challenge from goalkeeper Sam Slocombe which left Luke Williams’ side needing to find an equaliser.
But a team that has been free-scoring this season, having demonstrated an ability to blow teams away through slick interplay and ruthless finishing, struggled to break down the door.
Not even Macauley Langstaff, the man dubbed the non-league Erling Haaland, could find a quick response, having struck fear across the division due to the 42 goals he has scored.
There were moments when the black and white legion stood in anticipation of a goal most notably when Sam Austin arrowed a shot over the bar five minutes after their interval.
That miss sparked 20,000 Notts fans to reach for the hymn books once again in the hope it could ignite an attack that was in desperate need of a breakthrough.
But despite so many promising situations, a team that has proven so incisive in their attacking play, struggled to produce the final pass.
Langstaff did momentarily have hearts racing when he chased a long ball but when he was beaten by Ross Fitzsimons in a foot race, it was the turn of Chesterfield fans to raise the decibels.
As is so often the case when you are trailing in games of such magnitude, time invariably becomes the enemy as the seconds and minutes ticked by.
Notts continued to probe as a header from Connell Rawlinson flew inches wide of the post when just for a moment it appeared destined to find the far corner of the net.
But with six minutes remaining and as Notts fans began to fall silent, Aaron Nemane attempted to whip them up into a frenzy for one final push.
And with virtually the next moment, Notts were level as the sights of a return to the EFL came looming into view when John Bostock’s free-kick squeezed in at the near post.
As bodies sagged and flagged due to the emotional and physical output, it felt as if the momentum was with Notts due to the nature of their late equaliser as the game entered extra time.
But Armando Dobra had other ideas when he collected a pass to bend a terrific finish inside the far post and out of Slocombe’s reach.
Williams, patrolling his technical area, asked for one more push as Langstaff agonisingly dragged a shot wide having been picked out by Matt Palmer.
But early in the second period of extra time, Notts drew themselves level once again when Ruben Rodrigues’ shot struck the ground and looped over the head of Fitzsimons.
The tension in the stands was unbearable as penalties loomed and some did not know what to do with such copious amounts of nervous energy.
Mair, sent on as a substitute to replace Slocombe, looked like a big call but it proved an inspired change. The on-loan Norwich City keeper made two saves to deny Oldaker and King.
That left Scott leaving the city of Nottingham holding its breath knowing had he scored, he would send Notts back to the Football League. The forward made no mistake, sparking glorious celebrations at the final whistle.
The world's oldest Football League club is finally back where they belong.
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