LAS VEGAS -- Within hours of the final Steeden being kicked on Allegiant Stadium on Saturday night, the NRL was taking a victory lap after a successful second foray into Las Vegas.
And there is plenty to be happy about; 40,000 fans, the coup of getting the Raiders vs. Warriors clash onto the main Fox channel rather than the cable channels, and the only real scandal coming from an NFL player, not an NRL one.
The addition of two English fanbases was a masterstroke, with the dueling ends of the ground making plenty of noise during the day - before the Wigan and Canberra fans ended up singing together for much of the second half of the day, having both secured massive wins.
The vibes were great. We had hours of singing, a marriage proposal, and of course the big story of the weekend - that the fans cleaned the stadium out of beer to an extent that they've never seen at an NFL game.
As I said before the game, the NRL has dropped most of the schtick about becoming a major player in the US market and instead has embraced this weekend for what it is. And with four new teams coming next year, we'll get to do it all over again.
The footy was, at times, also very good - Penrith remain the benchmark in the competition, Canberra quickly shut up anyone predicting them to get the wooden spoon, Bevan French continued his dominance of the Super League, and the Jillaroos put on a show.
The latter was perhaps the only sour note - nobody gave England a chance before the game and rightly so, and while the women's game needs to remain a part of this festival of footy, it would perhaps be better served by being, say, game one of the State of Origin series instead of an international. The Jillaroos right now are simply too good for anyone to give them a contest, and the blowout sucked a lot of life out of the stadium (up until the end when people were excited that there was a genuine chance of triple digits).
Four games was initially looming as a daunting prospect and while some sections of the ground did empty out a bit by the end of the fourth game, the noise was up for the entirety of what was a very long day.
But regardless of how good of a week it was - and I'd strongly encourage any fan whose team gets the call up next year to make the pilgrimage - the end is coming in the next couple of years, with the governing body already courting Wembley Stadium among other places as the potential hosting venue for future opening rounds.
But credit where it's due. The uptake by fans in general was definitely bigger than anticipated, the story has dominated the media cycle back home, and the players enjoy the journey. Even if this project only goes on for another couple of years, it's provided a unique experience in a sport that sorely lacks international opportunities for fans in the way that cricket, rugby union, and football do.
The phrase 'once in a lifetime' is used a lot, but for a lot of footy fans, this weekend absolutely was. And if that's all NRL Vegas ever ends up being, that's more than enough.