But there’s an irony here, one that proves Payne may have a point about the friendlies having for his club. And that’s the fact that so many supporters who swore they’d show nothing but indifference to the Roma game were paying attention to the broadcast and/or the news that came out of that friendly. As much as they tried to unplug, they couldn’t. Sure, you can argue that you didn’t go to the game, you only watched it on TV. Still, the match or the events around the match grabbed your attention; they made you mad.

The gimmick got Di Vaio to the All-Star Game. But is it really all that more gimmicky than the homer-laden fan votes that we so often see decide All-Star selections in all the major sports?

And, well, after Madrid, there aren’t many other opponents you can bring in that will raise the bar. Even a big English or German or Italian side will feel like seeing a bar band after you’ve had the chance to teleport to 1968 and see the Stones live in the flesh.