Those are times when we felt a national invincibility, when we took a new pride in our team, flag and country and when the national spirit was at an all-time high. It is easy to understand, then, that when this entertainment was taken away or at least delayed by several hours, members of the viewing public felt, quite reasonably, that they had been deprived of something very essential, like the air we breathe. It was their right, they felt, to be able to watch not just football heroes playing a match but also Ireland as a nation going out to take its rightful place among the nations of the earth. I do not think I exaggerate the situation in the least.