IF THE enduring image of Hull City's 2008 promotion drama was old-timers Dean Windass and Nick Barmby wracked with anxiety on the Wembley bench, a similar snapshot was to be captured near the home dug-out of the KC during the final minutes of this season.
With Nick Proschwitz stepping up to take a stoppage-time penalty against Cardiff, a chance to confirm the Tigers' promotion as runners-up there and then, manager Steve Bruce could no longer watch.
Turning on his heels in the shadow of the West Stand he threw one arm tightly around son Alex, the other around Robbie Brady, and buried his head into their shoulders.
The penalty, of course, would only be the start of the torture when saved by Cardiff goalkeeper David Marshall, but those perfect pictures of father and son united in torment will forever serve as a bookmark for events on that crazy day at the KC.
For the Bruces, it was also the fraught final chapter of a season neither could have hoped for when reunited last summer.
"We were big outsiders at the start so to get automatic promotion when our top goalscorer finishes with nine goals, it's quite incredible what we've all done," said Alex.
"The long-term aim was always promotion. With my dad dropping out of the Premier League and me being around the Championship for a number of years with Ipswich and Leeds, it was always our aim to get up.
"To do it together, where I've got up there and he's got back there, it's very pleasing. It's a season we'll both be able to look back on with fond memories, I'm sure."
Within a month of Bruce senior arriving as City boss last June, Alex was invited by his dad to join on a free transfer from Leeds. It was a brave move from both, but one that has earned full vindication with 37 league and cup appearances.
"It still hasn't really sunk in yet, it's been amazing," he added.
"To achieve it in the way we did, we were all absolutely shattered by the end of that Saturday. We were drained with how the day panned out and it'll probably take a couple of weeks to sink in."
The events of May 4, 2013 will go down in history.
Needing a win to guarantee promotion ahead of Watford, City fought back from ex-Tiger Fraizer Campbell's opening goal to lead 2-1 thanks to replies from Proschwitz and Paul McShane.
Proschwitz's failure to convert from 12 yards then allowed Nicky Maynard to snatch a 2-2 draw at the death and left City vulnerable to a last-ditch Watford attack at home to Leeds.
A happy climax eventually arrived when Ross McCormack earned Alex's former club an unlikely win at Vicarage Road and despite only being a substitute, the 27-year-old lived every moment.
He said: "I was on the bench and I had a fella over my shoulder, to the right of the dug-out, telling me what was going on. I've never spoken to a fan so much in my life.
"The fan was relaying everything to me and then I was passing it on. It was a crazy experience.
"If you'd have come up with a movie script, I'm not sure you could have done it better.
"It was totally unbelievable some of the things that were happening. With the two penalties here and then the goalkeeper getting injured at Watford, I suppose it was meant to be our day."
That, of course, was the culmination of a season's hard work.
Twenty four wins – 13 at home and 11 away – set City apart from the chasing pack and even when resolve was tested down the season's final straight, there were telling moments that made promotion possible.
"For me it was after Huddersfield and Burnley, when we'd dug in 1-0, but then it was winning at Ipswich," said Bruce.
"To go down there and be six points clear with four games to go gave us a huge opportunity. But after the Barnsley game I thought we'd blown it!
"We were so disappointed with how we performed so to step up and perform like we did against Cardiff said a lot about this group. You can't fault the lads."
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