Three hundred staunch Otago rugby fans took the train to the Ranfurly Shield game in Invercargill on Saturday.
Only about 200 of them made the return journey.
Just where the rest were yesterday, no-one knew for sure.
Some had made other travel arrangements; others were possibly still drowning their sorrows after Otago's controversial loss and probably ringing family or friends and organising rides home.
When someone suggested chartering a train as the fans did regularly in years past, the Otago Rugby Football Union ran with the idea.
All 300 seats were sold out in 24 hours, commercial manager Mike Kerr said.
It was a jovial crowd which climbed aboard at the Dunedin Railway Station.
As the train pulled away, the Mosgiel Brass Band pumped out the theme from Hogan's Heroes.
The fans must have taken it as an omen: To a person they were positive Otago would bring home the shield, despite 21 unsuccessful attempts in the 53 years since the province last held it.
At least, that is what they told this reporter.
All Otago needed to do, they said, was "stop playing like girls" (said by a woman), get their act together, and play better than they had done for a long time.
That is all. And all the fans had to do was have a little faith.
If the power of positive thinking was enough, Otago would have won by a 20-point margin.
"This game will be a legend. It will be talked about for years to come," one passenger declared.
Kevin Doherty, of Lee Stream, who witnessed Otago's Ranfurly Shield defeats to Manawatu in 1977 and Canterbury in 1994, was certain his presence was going to ensure it was third time lucky, while Dee Hartley, of Dunedin, said although she was confident of the win, she had "crossed my fingers, and everything else I've got" just in case.
Victory or loss, the fans were planning a good time on the journey south.
The singing in one carriage began before the train reached Green Island.
Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline summed up the mood - good times never seemed so good.
Most of the seats were snapped by corporate groups.
But there were exceptions.
The outing became Shane Crossan's stag do, the groom-to-be dressed in a skin-tight suit and stag's head mask, and his 42 mates unmissable in their blue and yellow overalls and yellow wigs.
The group, mainly friends from the Taieri Rugby Club, talked a bit, joked a bit and drank a bit, steaming up the windows of their carriage so much it was fortunate they had not gone to see the view.
The boys could look after themselves, Mr Crossan's father-in-law-to-be Peter Shanks said, adding he was not there to chaperone.
"My job is to make sure the groom gets home alive."
Mission accomplished, he said yesterday.
Mr Crossan and his friends had arrived back in Dunedin safely at 2am.
"None of them lost a cellphone or anything else, and none of them lost each other. There were no casualties in our carriage."
The fans' euphoric mood lasted all the way to Invercargill, only dimming mid-way through the second half of the game when Southland scored (or possibly did not score) its only try.
The regular "Otaaaago" chants from the estimated 2000 Otago fans at the ground might have been drowned out by the rhythmic roar of "South-land, South-land", but no-one could fail to notice the Otago team had solid support.
However, the reality hit as it became clear Otago would yet again go home shieldless.
The Otago fans walked quietly from the ground, swept along in a sea of smiling, chattering, back-slapping Southlanders.
Win or lose, Otago was still her team, Susan Windsor, of Ravensbourne, had said on the train before the game.
And Dee Hartley's comment probably summed up the reality for diehard Otago supporters: "We've learned to live with disappointment".
• The behaviour of rugby fans in Invercargill on Saturday night received a thumbs up from police.
Senior Sergeant Maggie Windle said while the 58 staff working were busy, they were generally pleased with how the night went.
Of the 18 people arrested, 13 were for disorderly behaviour, one for wilful damage and four for minor offending.
A drink driving blitz resulted in 600 compulsory breath tests with only one drink driver and one forbidden driver caught.
