There was a party in the stands... and then reality hit. Hard.
8-0 hard.
A supposedly sold-out crowd at the Kalinga Stadium was in a jubilant mood ahead of India vs USA at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. The DJ kept the hits going and it ramped up, right until the crescendo of fireworks before the teams lined up. There was palpable energy in the air, unmistakable, with the frisson of excitement. Could India pull it off?
For a brief, brief moment in the third minute, the crowd very nearly did believe. Nitu Linda, all energy and drive, dribbled through the midfield, before threading it towards Neha on the left-wing. Gisele Thompson, USA's right back, mistimed her clearance and allowed Neha to burst through, in the box. For a moment, history was about to be made, but the Indian forward dallied, and Thompson was allowed to recover.
Clearly, Thomas Dennerby had done his research - Thompson appeared nervy defensively in USA's CONCACAF victory over Mexico in the final. Throughout the game, Lynda Kom, with a touch that displayed her prowess as a #9, attempted to spread the play out to Neha.
That was the idea, anyway.
By half-time India trailed 5-0, with Charlotte Kohler, Onyeka Gamero, Melina Rebimbas (twice) and even Thompson getting on the scoresheet. The atmosphere now funereal, thoughts simply turned to the difference between the two sides. No amount of pre-match hype or glamour could mask the reality of the pitch and Indian women's football was laid bare on the Kalinga.
The contrast was perhaps most starkly apparent in Mia Bhuta, who came on at half-time. If not for her father chasing a tennis dream at the age of 16 and moving to the US, fate could very well have seen Mia start this game in midfield for India - and it's fair to say she'd have been a very different player to the one she is today.
Therein lies the problem - because it's a failure of systems. India's very best young footballers almost universally come from poor backgrounds, and it's a credit to them that they've beaten the odds to even make it this far. It shows in the physique - Anjali Munda, in the Indian goal, with her arms above her head, looked shorter than Taylor Suarez, who scored the penalty to make it 7-0.
The Americans were sharper to every loose ball, a reflection of the regular, competitive football they feature in within their domestic structure. They came into this World Cup having played a qualifying tournament where their record read seven games played, seven games won: 58 goals scored, one conceded. India, meanwhile, have been starved of proper football and '270 sessions', as Dennerby noted he'd had with this squad ahead of the World Cup, simply do not compare. Even if Mia Bhuta was present in every one of those 270 sessions, she would not have scored the incredible looping shot to make it 8-0.
And yet, Bhuta's example simply proves it can be done. With enough expertise and willingness, India could very well one day inflict an 8-0 victory on another unwitting international opponent. It'll just take longer, and a more honest and sincere effort, instead of the lip-service that's prevalent now. Even lip-service has taken a back seat - fixtures and schedules for the youth leagues and even competitions as fundamental as the I-League have yet to be announced.
The USA is the standard, and having won with their biggest ever margin at the U-17 World Cup, an example of the reality that India have to aspire to. Maybe then India's captain will be tormenting other defences, instead of the suffering Astam Oraon underwent tonight, through no fault of her own.
'The game starts 0-0' said Dennerby ahead of the match. Well, it finished 8-0 and India is that far behind in every sense of the word. And that's a long, long gap to bridge.
The party? Done.