Every year Lee Desmond and his dad have made the trip to the Aviva Stadium to watch the FAI Cup final, and inevitably the question pops into his head.
"You're sort of sitting there saying, ‘Why isn’t this me?’," Desmond admits.
"But that’s always been the goal for me and for a lot of the lads. We have a great opportunity now so hopefully this is the year.”
Desmond and St Pat's are 90 minutes away from the final. In-form Dundalk, the reigning Cup holders, stand in their way at Richmond Park tonight.
The Donaghmede man has recovered from the head injury suffered in an accidental collision with his own goalkeeper, Vitezslav Jaros, in August.
Desmond was knocked unconscious for several minutes. "The first 10 minutes were scary, maybe," he recalled.
"I couldn’t see or speak, I was struggling to move to be honest. I felt I was temporarily paralysed. Once that came back, I was absolutely fine."
The highly-rated centre-half was out for six weeks when he thought he would be back in three due to a recurrence of symptoms after he had started the return to play protocols.
Desmond can still experience the odd light headache but he has been passed fit to continue having had a MRI scan and seen a neurologist.
"It’s nothing dangerous. The physios are happy for me to carry on," he insisted.
"Sometimes people get concussion symptoms for months, and some get them for years, but I'm definitely past that now."
Having played 90 minutes against Derry last week the former Ireland under-21 defender is fit for the club's first semi-final in five years.
"Not that I ever took things for granted - I definitely didn’t - but just to see things from a different perspective, you get that extra little five percent hunger back," he reflected.
Has the incident given him extra motivation to win the FAI Cup? That simply wasn't necessary.
"That has nothing to do with it, to be honest," said Desmond. "I’ve been waiting seven years to get to the Aviva and win this Cup.
"We're one step closer but have a big challenge against a top team, and we're not going to take anything for granted."
Desmond played in the semi-final loss to Cork City in 2016.
But comparing the team in Inchicore now to then is like comparing chalk and cheese.
"I remember that Cork were title challengers at the time, and we didn’t have such a good team," the 26-year-old remembered.
"There wasn’t a big feeling on the day that we were in an FAI Cup semi-final. It was quite strange, it definitely didn’t have the feel that this year has.
"It was a different time at the club. I think it’s a tighter group of players this year, and there’s a lot more belief in the squad.
"I think the fans know that too, and it can resonate with them, that they have a team that’s really giving them their all. This time definitely feels bigger.
"Obviously this time we're not letting it get to us, we know it’s ultimately just another game.
"But we know it’s a big opportunity to go and play in the Aviva which is something a lot of us would dream of and consider the highlight of our career in the League of Ireland."
The Saints have been consistent throughout the League - they are second only to champions in waiting Shamrock Rovers in the top flight.
For Desmond, it's a massive improvement. We’re definitely going in the right direction," he said.
"Sometimes when you get to this stage you nearly have one eye on the off-season and holidays. It’s not like that this year. Everyone is just so focused.
"When you’re in for 10 months straight things can get a bit repetitive, but not at all.
"There has been great fun going in every morning and bouncing into the games on Fridays. It’s been a very enjoyable year.
"We want it to end right, anyway. Hopefully that is winning the FAI Cup."
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