Need a gentle reminder of how Great Britain's Davis Cup team hasn't always been touched by greatness? Or a nudge, ahead of this weekend's semifinal against Argentina in Glasgow, about how the British public haven't always been so heavily invested in the competition?
Then you ought to take a moment or two, however distressing this might be, to recall Britain's last encounter with Argentina. Played on the red clay of Buenos Aires, that first-round tie in February 2008 at Estadio Parque Roca was one of the most awkward and excruciating episodes in the history of British tennis -- and that's saying something, with no shortage of horrors to pick from.
That awkwardness was felt most acutely within the Murray family, with an emotional Jamie highly critical of Andy for withdrawing from the tie -- which was Britain's first in the elite World Group for five years -- to avoid a possible injury: "It kind of affects the way I feel about him."
As their mother Judy observed in the first of Andy's memoirs, Jamie was "livid".
"All brothers argue, but not many end up with newspaper headlines exposing the fact splashed all over the world. I felt for both of them; for Andy as all he was trying to do was protect himself from unnecessary injury, and for Jamie as he was thrown into the deep end of a news conference without being properly informed."
No doubt, some won't appreciate those memories intruding on this golden age for Britain's Davis Cup team, with last year's triumph the first since 1936, and then another run this season, too. Even so, it's a useful exercise to compare then and now, and to consider how the Murray family's relationship with this competition has changed in the intervening eight years, as well as to appreciate how the British public now think very differently about this competition.
If the younger of the Murray brothers had travelled to Buenos Aires, Britain could possibly have beaten Argentina. Without him, captain John Lloyd's team had no chance whatsoever, and that defeat provoked some dark thoughts about Britain's future in the competition. Never mind whether the British team were capable of winning the tournament for the first time since the 1930s -- when would one of the founding nations ever win another World Group tie, as at that moment in time they hadn't done so since 1986?
The era of Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski had been a barren time for Britain in the Davis Cup -- they never accomplished anything in the competition proper -- so why would it be any different with Murray as the front-man, especially when he wasn't always making himself available for the big occasion?
In the aftermath of skipping the tie in Buenos Aires, Murray faced accusations from some quarters -- his brother wasn't the only one saying this -- of not caring enough about his country's fortunes. And some of that criticism hurt. From today's viewpoint, how ridiculous those accusations look now. Murray could hardly have done more for Britain's cause last season -- he contributed 11 of the 12 points required to win the tournament, with eight in singles and three in doubles.
That enthusiasm for the tournament hadn't dimmed this year either, as although he didn't feature in the quarterfinal victory over Serbia, which was played the weekend after he won Wimbledon, he still travelled there to support his teammates. Most Wimbledon champions go to the beach; Murray took a trip to Belgrade, where he supplied encouragement, tactical and technical points. Private jet or not, that was an impressive display of commitment and togetherness.
Add in Murray's two Olympics gold medals, and this hardly looks like the behaviour of someone lacking in patriotic fervour.
Also note how Murray's off-court and on-court bond with Jamie was instrumental in last year's run to the title, with that discord and disaffection a thing of the past, and the brothers now a formidable pairing. In the last eight years, Jamie has become a force -- and a multiple Grand Slam champion -- in doubles. Together, the Murrays won three rubbers last year, including in the final against Belgium, and already this season they have a victory to their names, which came in the first round in Japan.
But the greatest transformation since 2008 has been in the public's appetite for the Davis Cup. For too many years, when Britain was scuffling around the lower tiers, this was a competition that passed most of the general sporting public by. The worst was when Britain lost to a team of Lithuanian teenagers in 2010, which sent them down to a playoff against Turkey. Defeat would have brought relegation to the lowest level of the Davis Cup, where they would have been alongside countries such as Andorra, San Marino and Iceland.
But they overcame Turkey, with that tie Leon Smith's first as captain. From that low base, he took them all the way into the history books -- and a hangar outside Ghent, where last year's final was played.
And if there's one part of the Britain that has appreciated the Davis Cup adventures more than anywhere else, it's Scotland, with the ties providing the rare opportunity -- in fact, the only opportunity -- for Scottish fans to watch the Murray brothers play competitive tennis live. If last year's two ties at Glasgow are to be your guide -- the first round against the United States and the semifinal against Australia -- it will be extremely loud inside the Emirates Arena this weekend, especially if Britain progress into a second successive final.
But when the Glaswegians turn the dial, take a couple of minutes to quietly reflect on that tie in Buenos Aires, and how far British tennis has come.