One of the most intoxicating seasons in the history of Scottish football now nears its conclusion. Two more rounds of fixtures to play, two more instalments of the most brilliant, bonkers and bewitching drama.
Over these next few days, triumph and torment will dance hand in hand, with Hearts seeking to shatter a duopoly that had long been viewed as the law of the land.
The equation for Derek McInnes’ side is fairly simple. If they beat Falkirk at Tynecastle on Wednesday night, they will be crowned champions if Celtic lose at Motherwell.
If Hearts win and Celtic take only a point at Fir Park, that would then give them a three-point cushion — and a superior goal difference — as they travel to Parkhead for a final-day shootout on Saturday.
Those in charge of the SPFL Premiership have not quite told the engraver to get to work just yet, but maroon ribbons and confetti have surely been ordered.
Derek McInnes’ Hearts side could win the title with a game to spare if results go their way
All those naysayers who thought Hearts would buckle at various points of the season have been made to look foolish. Or, in the words of Derek McInnes, they simply have not been paying attention.
Hearts are now just potentially 90 minutes away from a title victory which would echo through the ages and send shockwaves far beyond the borders of Scotland. One step from glory.
Whenever a team or an individual stand on the brink of making history in sport, there is always a clamour to try and contextualise their achievement.
In that sense, The Beatles provide a handy reference point. It is now customary on match-days at Tynecastle for Hey Jude to be played on the Tannoy prior to kick-off.
Close to 20,000 Hearts supporters twirl their scarves and belt out the lyrics — na na na nananana — as this thunderous old stadium comes alive.
Yet, when Hearts were last crowned champions all the way back in 1960, it would be another two years until The Beatles had their first hit single with Love Me Do.
When Aberdeen became the last team outwith the two Old Firm clubs to win the league in 1985, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure were still in the process of organising the original Live Aid concert later that summer.
Hearts players train ahead of Wednesday’s league match with Falkirk at Tynecastle
Just a couple of little musical nuggets to put the whole thing into perspective. This is truly generational. A shot at history and at sporting immortality.
This time last year, McInnes found himself at the centre of an awkward tug-of-war between Kilmarnock and Hearts.
Prior to the teams meeting at Rugby Park on the final day of the season, it was a badly-kept secret that McInnes would be leaving Killie to take charge of Hearts.
It was wisely decided that he should not be in the home dugout, with Hearts going on to claim a 1-0 victory and a seventh-placed finish in the league.
He was then formally unveiled as Hearts’ new manager just 24 hours later. From a lowly seventh, to seventh heaven, all in the space of just one year.
McInnes will know that nothing is certain just yet. There is still a lot of work to do, a lot of twists and turns yet to be negotiated over these next few days.
Falkirk are no mugs. They remain the only visiting team to win at Tynecastle this season, going back to January when they knocked Hearts out of the Scottish Cup on penalties.
But their season is effectively done with little left to play for. It would be a monumental shock if they were to leave Hearts with a bloody nose again this evening.
Lawrence Shankland scores in Hearts’ 1-1 draw with Motherwell on Saturday night
This will be an evening where the Hearts supporters have one eye on the pitch and one eye on their mobile phones to check the score at Fir Park.
Hearts can, of course, only take care of business and hold up their end of the bargain. But should Motherwell take points off Celtic, the roars would be heard all the way from Gorgie to Glasgow.
After the 2-1 victory over Rangers last week, Hearts striker Claudio Braga spoke about the need to ‘stop giving ourselves heart attacks’ by falling behind in games.
It was a warning they did not heed. They fell 1-0 behind away at Motherwell on Saturday before fighting back to claim a point in a 1-1 draw.
That was a hard point to contextualise at the time. It could well have been a decent result had Celtic slipped up the following day against Rangers.
But, when Celtic followed it up by beating Rangers 3-1 on Sunday, the reality for Hearts was that it was two points dropped at Fir Park.
They have now fallen behind in each of their last five league matches. Sales of nail clippers have all but dried up completely in Edinburgh over these past couple of weeks.
Falkirk’s Ben Parkinson celebrates after putting Hearts out of the Scottish Cup via penalties
There is a sense that Hearts are living on their nerves, doing enough to scrape by in their efforts to get over the line.
The loss of Craig Halkett and Marc Leonard, both of whom ruptured their Achilles in the draw at Motherwell, have done nothing to ease the tension.
Halkett had been absolutely immense over the course of the season, the best centre-back in the league by a distance.
But now is the time for others to step up. Hearts cannot come this deep into a season and throw it all away. The pain would be too profound.
When he arrived at the club last year, Tony Bloom spoke about a ten-year plan to try and disrupt the natural order.
Investor Tony Bloom wants Hearts to disrupt the natural order of Scottish football
The fact that Bloom’s vision could be realised within 12 months speaks to one of the most incredible tales ever told in Scottish football.
The final chapter has yet to be written. But, for a man who made his fortune in betting and calculating the odds of probability, Bloom will recognise the scale of the opportunity here.
Trying to shatter a 41-year duopoly and win the club’s first league title in 66 years, there is no guarantee a chance like this will come around again any time soon.
Hearts will not go away under Bloom. They are building something special. But chances to win a league in Scotland do not come around often.
You don’t need access to Jamestown analytics to understand those numbers.
