Tears and cheers at Beijing's Water Cube were swapped for beers last night and wouldn't the Budweisers have tasted sweet for American swimmer Michael Phelps.
He has defied all belief. He was set a benchmark that rewrites record books and challenged all human capability.
He's easily the greatest athlete to wear their nation's colours at an Olympic Games.
And winning his eighth gold medal in the pool yesterday has surely put him in that much-talked-about race to wear the badge of the world's greatest ever athlete.
It's the hottest topic of conversation which arises whenever a sportsperson goes on a winning streak. But no other man or woman has dominated an Olympic Games like Phelps did last week.
Bear in mind, too, that it's not the first time he's dominated a major meet. As a teenager he left Athens four years ago with six of the same around his neck.
On his way to surpassing Mark Spitz's 1972 record seven wins in the pool at the one Games, Phelps put his name next to seven world records.
He beat the world's best race after race.
His own haul of gold was more than the entire Australian team could put together by the time swimming action at the pool finished yesterday.
It was hard not to be disappointed with some of Australia's narrow misses. World record-holders Leisel Jones, Libby Trickett, Eamon Sullivan and Grant Hackett all failed to shine in their pet events.
But there was no time to get hung up on that.
Phelps's climb to the Everest of Olympic achievement should have made every onlooker proud.
Three of his gold came in relays the 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle, and the 4x100m medley. He opened his treasure chest with the first event the 400m individual medley, and went on to win the 200m medley, 100m and 200m butterfly and the 200m freestyle.
As he equalled Spitz's record on Saturday commentators repeated the line, ''Phelps has done for swimming what Tiger Woods has done for golf''.
They're right. He's also done what Mohammed Ali did for boxing. What Wayne Gretzky did for ice hockey, Michael Jordan for basketball, Roger Federer for tennis. And what Spitz had done for the sport before Phelps was unleashed onto the world.
And if in London in four years he can somehow repeat the feat he should surely take the mantle.
But can he already take that claim?
His sport is more demanding that Woods's. He has dived into that pool for nine straight days with undeniable success. Morning and night he has competed and won. No, dominated. Each time he has been pitted against the best, at their peak, which has required absolute perfection.
He has had to beat former world record-holders and gold medallists, and has diminished their previous results to old news.
The 23-year-old is a phenomenon.
There have been thousands of headlines bearing his name. They have painted pictures of the superhuman performances he dished out to the world daily.
And hasn't it been a treat.
Ahead of Beijing, Phelps had set three goals. Win every race, record a best time for each and raise the profile of US swimming. He did all.
Yesterday's medley relay, the last of the swimming calendar, was shown on the big screen at the Baltimore Ravens v Minnesota Vikings NFL pre-season match.
Phelps's butterfly leg was key to the relay win, as he turned a third-place behind Japan and Australia at the halfway point into a lead which freestyler Jason Lezak would never surrender.
And for that effort his name will be on the lips of almost every sports loving American.
And his sport will be on their minds.
Tomorrow millions of American children will talk about him.
Who could blame them, their hero is the greatest athlete of them all.
daniel.macdonald@canberrat imes.com.au