The soap opera is over - let the games begin. In Japan, on Saturday morning, the Republic of Ireland soccer team faces arguably its greatest test ever, when it takes on African champions, Cameroon, in its opening World Cup finals match after the most amazing episode in the history of Irish sport.
To say that the past week has been bizarre is to understate by some measure the truly extraordinary events that have unfolded, hour by hour, since Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy had their falling out in Saipan.
The saga gripped the public's imagination like nothing else in recent memory. Whatever else it was, this was not media hype. In the immediate aftermath of Keane's sacking, The Irish Times website recorded more interest in the events than in the immediate aftermath of September 11th, 2001. Newspapers in India placed the dispute on their front pages - putting it on a par with the threatened nuclear catastrophe with Pakistan. Television schedules were ripped up to accommodate the latest breaking news and the TV audience for RTE's interview with Keane almost matched that of the debate between Bertie Ahern and Michael Noonan prior to the general election.
It will be some time before these events can be properly judged. But in the short breathing space between Keane's final acceptance on Tuesday evening that he would not be returning to the squad for the World Cup and Saturday's first game for Ireland, some things are clear enough. For certain, none of the participants emerge with their reputations unscathed.
The Football Association of Ireland seemed to many to be hapless appendages to the unfolding events. The FAI must ultimately accept responsibility for the organisational shambles that greeted the team on its arrival in Saipan - and which so justly annoyed Keane. He must also know that, to date, his loss of temper has achieved only his own removal from a competition of which he wanted to be part and severe damage to the morale of the remaining players. And Mick McCarthy must know that his own role bespeaks appalling people-management skills.
But that was then. The Irish squad has something to prove from here on in: the players can show they are worthy competitors on football's finest and most demanding stage. Loyal supporters know they are up to the challenge. On Saturday morning, as they stride out to meet Cameroon, we will watch, cheer, and hope for the best.