While it great news for the League of Ireland that the "Rov-is" have eventually pushed Irish soccer onto a higher stage, it will be interesting to see if they become the new Chelsea, with a myriad of new fans who have supported them "for years". How many will now claim to have been founder members of KRAM and to have stood on the pitch that fateful day in 1986 when Glenmalure was closed for the last time? How many of those who will go to the Aviva to watch Spurs will also go to the Tallaght Stadium the following Friday to watch Galway or Drogheda or the like?
The circumstances are perfect for the free-loaders and the glory-hunters - as with the re-born Chelsea and Man City fans, we'll see them crawling from everywhere over the next couple of years as Rovers begin to dominate Irish soccer and hopefully, repeat this European success. And each time it'll be appropriate to ask - where were you during the club's itinerant days?
