They came, they saw and they conquered.
On this day in 2005, Sheffield Wednesday defeated Hartlepool United 4-2 in a pulsating League One play-off final at the Millennium Stadium to seal promotion to the Championship.
After picking up the trophy, the Owls celebrated and then joined the 40,000 plus Wednesdayites on the exodus back up the M50 to Sheffield.
The team coach got stuck in gridlocked traffic on the M4 motorway, meaning the players got off the bus with the trophy to celebrate with supporters. Left-back Paul Heckingbottom made the most of the moment by starting a motorway conga.
He recalled: "I was drunk before I got on the bus! We were stuck on the M4. It was complete gridlock.
"I remember opening up the first exit door on the bus and getting out and running down the motorway with the play-off final trophy!"
Lee Bullen, the Owls' skipper, vividly remembers Heckingbottom's hilarious antics.
"The traffic was horrendous trying to leave Cardiff; we were at a standstill, surrounded by cars all full of Wednesday fans," he told The League Paper in January 2017.
"Suddenly, the alarm went off and I thought a window had been smashed or something. I looked round, saw the side door was open, then out of the window saw Hecky dancing down the motorway with the cup.
"He was jumping on top of cars, bouncing up and down, getting selfies with fans. It was unbelievable.
"Everyone was feeling a bit hungover and tired on the bus, but that just kicked everybody on and got the party started again."
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The party was in full swing and the joyous scenes carried on at the nearby motorway services.
“There were hundreds of fans all there, all around," Paul Sturrock, the then Owls boss, told author Tom Whitworth in his book Owls: Through the modern era. "Of course, the toilets were up the stairs so the boys did the conga into the place and up the stairs.
"All the fans joined onto the back. Then they stood up at the top of the stairs singing with the Wednesday fans. It was fantastic."
