How many England supporters got to wish David Beckham good luck while standing so near him they could read the time from his watch?
Certainly not as many fans as got to mingle with the Irish World Cup squad at Dublin Airport yesterday. Supporters came out to greet the players as they set off to the Pacific island of Saipan - the team's base for a week before travelling on to Japan.
"Good luck, big lad," some said casually to a beaming Niall Quinn as he strode from the team bus to the check-in counter surrounded by polite but determined autograph hunters.
With excitement at fever pitch, fans could barely believe the access they had to the parade of A-list footie folk ambling along beside them on their way to the World Cup in Japan. Keano, Stevo, Harty, Robbie, they yelled. At times the green jerseys of the players outnumbered the tasteful scarfs on the uniforms of the smiling air hostesses.
Manager Mick McCarthy sat calmly on a chair amid the media frenzy in the Skyview Lounge, dressed in the squad's World Cup suit designed by Louis Copeland. His immediate plan was to sleep for eight hours on the plane. "I am very relaxed, it will be nice to go out and concentrate on the football instead of all this," he said.
Thursday's defeat to Nigeria was also on the minds of the players. "We did let in a couple of bad goals," said Keane as he rummaged through his kit bag. "But better to let them in now than in a couple of weeks' time."
Would his footballing prowess be even further increased by his recently-awarded honorary doctorate from Cork University? The sometimes grumpy midfielder grinned and said: "Nah, it was a great honour, but it hasn't changed my life. Obviously I am getting a bit of stick over it."
As the rain fell steadily outside, Keane wondered whether the heat in Japan might have an effect on the team. "We struggled a little in '94, in Florida," he said. "These days, though, the players are fitter and stronger and they look after themselves better. I am sure we will do well, I'm looking forward to it."
Asked was he feeling fit enough for the challenge, the Ireland captain's answer was slightly worrying. "Just about, yeh," he said. "As the years go by it gets harder."
In between media interviews and obligatory photo ops with giant leprechauns the lads picked at bowls of fruit salad and munched on croissants until the physiotherapist Mick Byrne rounded them up for the flight. "Here we go, lads," he said in urgent tones. Here we go, indeed.