For someone who is into numbers as much as Jack Keaney, a big Tallaght crowd is just what the heart desired to kick-off life in the Premier Division.
Keaney, a maths and biology student in Belfield, admits that the prospect of going to the home of the league champions for the season opener is a special one.
"I think when you look at the fixtures you look for when you're going to be playing in Tallaght and for the first night, in front of a big crowd, that's why you play football," said the UCD captain.
"Of course it's a tough test for us against Shamrock Rovers to start with.
"Look, there's no illusions, we know we have to pick up points early - but there's no better place to go than Shamrock Rovers.
"The fans are going to be there now with restrictions lifted and that's why you play football - you want to be playing against a top team with six or seven thousand there.
"You want to be playing against the best players in the League, which they probably have. But look, you never know what can happen on the night.
"We're going to be going out with a freedom that maybe other teams don't have. Hopefully that will be a positive for us."
While he loved life at underage level at Sligo Rovers, he decided that he needed to find his own path and go to college.
"I always wanted to go to UCD because of the style of football they play, so it was probably a match made in heaven," smiled the 23-year-old who hails from Donegal town.
"Look, with the maths thing the boys sometimes take the mick out of me for being a know it all - and I don't mind taking it, it's a bit of craic at the end of the day."
Keaney, 20, teaches biology for several hours a week at Blackrock College when he's not studying or training.
"It will be something on the side for me hopefully in the future," he said.
"But I want to concentrate on football for as long as I can. I have another year left here, so we'll see what happens."
Three years into his time with the Students, Keaney and his team-mates are ready to taste the big time.
UCD took advantage of the untimely self-damage inflicted by Waterford and experienced an unforgettable night to remember when they clinched promotion via their second leg play-off victory.
"It was great but we don't want to dwell on it," the midfielder insisted. "We want to show everyone that we're here to stay.
"That's the goal. We've had two brilliant years under Andy Myler, he's a really authoritative figure from his business background in the college.
"He expects really high standards and is a manager you really want to be playing for.
"He set our stall out since coming in and gets that we're a hard working team first - once you do that you let your football take over."
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