If Armagh turned the world upside down by beating Kerry, they didn't stop there.
For once, the roars of the crowd would have drowned out the British army helicopters in south Armagh, nationalists demanded orange flags inside Stormont and, for once, the Sam Maguire cup was manhandled into Cardinal Ó Fiaich Square and the headquarters of Crossmaglen Rangers GFC.
For the huge crowd on the pitch, authoritatively estimated by an official as "a helluva size", a delay was nothing compared to the 25 years since manager Joe Kernan's last bid at Croke Park.
There were rumours that Cross, as it's known, wouldn't see Sam before nightfall.
There were plans for hijacking the team coach at a road-block somewhere near Cullyhanna and bringing the silverware there for the night.
Young boys bore hastily printed shirts proclaiming "Sam's Home". More than a few T-shirts boasted "Sam's been extradicted".
But for Joe Kernan at least, there had been some foretastes of success. This was his fourth victorious homecoming, having taken three All-Ireland club championships back to the GAA ground beside the infamous army base which is one of the busiest heliports in Europe, yet last night was mysteriously quiet.
"The boys just didn't know when to quit," he said, his voice still strained from the night before. He might as well have referred to the crowds that thronged the hamlets among the drumlins of south Armagh. There was no intention of quitting here last night.
"These guys have been written off so many times by the media," he said. "It was all about saving the good wine to the end, and we certainly saved the best for Kerry." There was no talk of saving anything in this homecoming, especially anything alcoholic.
Amid scenes that brought new meaning to the word hysteria, the champions, who had swapped their Louis Copeland suits for Armagh polo shirts, descended into mayhem - their attire being the only thing resembling anything approaching order or design.
The crowd, already frenzied thanks to the demagoguery of former caption and BBC pundit Jarlath Burns, erupted.
More than the record-breaking 13,000, established by Derry in 1993, are expected for the annual GOAL challenge match between the newly-crowned champions and a neighbouring Louth 15 tomorrow. No doubt the neighbours will find the task a little easier than Paidí Ó Sé's troops did on Sunday.
Earlier, up in Stormont, Lord Alderdice listened to some exchanges in the chamber about the match and all that. As he faced more points of disorder than order he quipped: "It's a funny old place here. I don't suppose I imagined that I would find nationalists demanding that Stormont have orange flags outside it and unionists expressing a degree of concern about it. But that would indeed be the circumstance if Armagh were here celebrating."
No such concerns in Crossmaglen other than to split the chill evening air with roars and to send the bus on its way to Armagh city and more of the same.