When the fans applauded after the 67th minute on Wednesday night, they did so knowing that the light show is almost over.
There are two home games left in the 2017 part of the campaign; one of the most poignant and fitting tributes is coming to a close, with the Sevco game on 30 December.
There have been moments during the last 12 months that have made your hair stand on end, most notably the Champions League nights when opposing players looked awestruck by what was going on around them.
There’s no place like Celtic Park on such a night.
What made Wednesday night different was that no sooner had fans stopped commemorating one great Celtic team and what it accomplished but they started to pay tribute to another one. This one. The 69-minute tribute was another great Celtic supporter moment, and as the 67 anniversary year edges towards the end it seems appropriate that the second half of this season be held in honour of the present side and what they have done.
There are some who will ask if it’s appropriate to replace one tribute with another like this.
I would stipulate that we’ve watched a once in a lifetime achievement here, perhaps a once in a generation one.
No Celtic team will do this again whilst we’re all living and breathing.
It’s that big a deal, it’s that big an accomplishment.
That deserves more than just a one-off. These players need to know what it means to all of us, that unbeaten campaign, that Invincible treble. It will put some energy into otherwise tired legs. It will remind them they are playing for a cause, not a club.
It will give them a sense of their own place in our history, and infuse them with a determination to make more.
It was wonderful that the fans chose to make that tribute in the last game … but it deserves more than a fleeting moment. The players earned the right to have their own endeavours appropriately honoured through the rest of this campaign.
So on the 69th minute, from now until the season ends, let’s hear it for the Bhoys.