All of that ink spilled, oxygen consumed and books written, the learned opinions offered in advance of the 2010 World Cup, and already out come the erasers, or at least the asterisks.
For Ivory Coast and perhaps for England it was the blackest of Fridays as two key players were lost to injury with the tournament only a week away. As always, there's a ripple effect through the groups, through the potential scenarios in the knockout rounds, through the entire tournament. (Not a great day for Italy either, though midfielder Andrea Pirlo, who suffered a calf injury during a friendly against Mexico, may miss only the opening match.)
Move a few important pieces and suddenly the whole jigsaw puzzle fits together differently.
Begin with striker Didier Drogba, whose World Cup ended before it began when he broke his elbow in a freak collision during a friendly against Japan.
Much has been made heading into this historic World Cup about the possibility of Africa rising, the chance that one of its five qualifiers, or perhaps host South Africa, could break through into the world's elite.
But now, two of the three best African players - two of the best players in the world - Drogba from the Ivory Coast and his Chelsea teammate, midfielder Michael Essien, who would have been the linchpin for a strong Ghanaian side, are out of the World Cup with injuries.
Without Drogba, now at the peak of his powers and on his best day like a force of nature, manager Sven Goran Eriksson loses not only his primary weapon, but will surely also have to deal with a crisis of confidence among the rest of the squad.
So where lie Africa's hopes now? With Cameroon (whose best player, the third great African star, Samuel Eto'o, is involved in an embarrassing public feud with the hero of the 1990 World Cup, Roger Milla); with the home team, who will be fortunate just to get out of the group stages; with a Nigerian squad that struggled to qualify; and with Algeria, which inspires precious little faith.
Of course, there is always another side to the coin. Portuguese hearts will be a little lighter this morning understanding that their tough draw (in a group of death with Ivory Coast, Brazil and North Korea) just got a whole lot easier.
The effect of Rio Ferdinand's absence from the England side is a bit more difficult to gauge. He started only 12 matches this past season for Manchester United because of injury, and given that, given that he's 31, given that he looked shaky in the friendly against Mexico last week, it's possible he wouldn't have been a tower of strength at centre back in any case. But the fact that manager Fabio Capello named him the team's captain following John Terry's, er, indiscretions, suggests the kind of role he might have played not just on the field, but also in the locker room.
Untested Matthew Upson is the likely replacement at the back (or perhaps Ledley King if his own knees hold up), and Liverpool's Steven Gerrard will inherit the captain's armband. Both could fill in admirably, though Upson's lack of experience, and Gerrard's apparent lack of comfort on the other occasions when he acted as England's captain, should give the supporters pause.
At the very least, gone is the sense that everything had been falling beautifully into place - the right manager in Capello, a friendly draw that includes a relatively easy path all the way to the semi-finals, Wayne Rooney rounding into full health. England still has a chance, arguably its best in a long time, but everything needs to go right.
This isn't a fatal blow, the way another Rooney injury would be, but there will be questions about defending - never a strong suit in the Capello era - and about leadership, on and off the pitch.
The United States has to be imagining a much better opportunity to win its opener against England next Saturday, to win the group and move on along a much easier path.
And still there are six days to go before it starts, still there is a full month of play, and lord knows more injury and scandal and acts of god await. Prognosticators, beware.