Unfortunately it's happened again.
Through know fault of our own, Wales are set to dust off the script and reprise their role as the disposable anti-heroes. For the second summer in a row.
Last time, at the Euros, the neutrals rallied behind Denmark after the Christian Eriksen situation. This time Wales are on home soil. More than 30,000 members of the Red Wall crammed into Cardiff City Stadium, and an entire nation watching on TV, will be roaring on Gareth Bale and his team in the World Cup play-off with Ukraine.
But once the cauldron of noise greets the teams as they come out, an emotional round of anthems is completed and the first whistle is blown, pretty much the rest of the world will rooting for Ukraine. Just like they did with Eriksen's Danes.
READ MORE: Ukraine's true class and why Wales are so lucky ahead of World Cup play-off final
For Ukraine, the horrors of the ongoing Russian invasion make it all the more extraordinary that they even managed to fulfil, let alone win, their play-off semi-final at Hampden Park. Were they to now qualify for a World Cup, it would surely go down as one of the all-time great sporting tales.
They have faced circumstances like no other heading into these play-offs. Not just in terms of the war unfolding at home, but also the lack of game time that so many of them have managed this year. Most of Oleksandr Petrakov's side are currently contracted with Ukrainian clubs, who have been unable to play since February due to the ongoing war.
With all those factors considered, one would think Wales SHOULD win. But football doesn't always work like that. Just ask Scotland.
On Wednesday night, Ukraine were well-drilled, slick and logical, producing a dazzling attacking display dripping with the sort of professionalism unbecoming of a side facing so much adversity.
Not that it was any surprise to Atalanta midfielder, Ruslan Malinovskyi. "I would say we had great performances in training," he said afterwards.
"We always push and, sometimes, it looks like an official game because everyone goes in with tackles. Because of this, we also had some injuries in training.
"Since the war started, training and games just gave me those two or three hours to be free in the mind and not think about the situation.
"My parents are in Ukraine, my brother is there. In the time when I’m on the pitch, I don’t think about the war. I just relax, concentrate on my job and what I need to do."
President Volodymyr Zelensky, described the game as "two hours of happiness that we've grown unaccustomed to" and will be hoping for more of the same against Wales.
Indeed, the lack of real fervent celebrations from the Ukrainian players at full-time in Glasgow should in itself be seen as a warning. The message in their camp is clear - the job's not done yet.
"We have a dream as a team to be at the World Cup and we have one more game — one more final — and we need to win it," said Oleksandr Zinchenko. "Otherwise, this game is not going to mean anything."
Wales have surely never had a better opportunity to end their torturous 64-year wait for an appearance at the greatest show in football. But if we're being entirely honest, many might be wishing there was another way.
"We believe this is our time to get to a World Cup finals," FAW chief executive Noel Mooney told the BBC.
"They are going through a horrendous time. I do understand that the world will look at this and like Eurovision, they want to see Ukraine get great global profile. We all do.
"But at the end of the day our job is to get to the World Cup. It will be decided on the football field. We believe we have enough in our locker to get us there."
World Cup qualification would help transform Welsh football, which for too long has spent its time in the wilderness when it comes to the sport's greatest competition.
There's the financial considerations too. Qualifying for the World Cup would earn the FAW at least an estimated £8m - money that would go a long way to helping build a future that looks beyond the likes of Bale, who knows this will be his last chance to reach the finals.
"This is the biggest game in Welsh history since 1958," Wales boss Page has already declared. "There's no hiding behind that and we're all excited by that."
But this Welsh narrative, however captivating it may be to audiences here, is nowhere near as powerful for the neutral, which means Wales will likely have to block out a fair amount of background noise in the next 48 hours or so.
In their own build-up to the game, the Daily Mail claims Wales have 'taken the baton for the planet's most unpopular team'. Such an assertion is perhaps a tad harsh. The rest of the world doesn't so much want Wales to lose - more it wants Ukraine to win.
Indeed, Wales usually take pride in their ability to make friends wherever they go, and certainly captured the hearts of neutrals during that magical run at Euro 2016.
And yet, this is the second time in as many years that they've taken on this role . Last summer, it was Denmark, struck by the withdrawal of Eriksen after he collapsed on the pitch during the game with Finland.
Wales were hammered on that occasion. The rest of the world got its wish.
Let's hope things are rather different this time around. A sellout Cardiff City Stadium, and an entire Welsh nation, will be fully behind their own team.
