When the season began, there likely wasn't an Evertonian on the planet who considered a push for Europe for this season. Even the most optimistic view of this team was a comfortably mid-table group who wouldn't stress out the fanbase with another relegation scrap.
So when the discussions started swirling around that Everton could, in fact, possibly sneak their way into a European competition for next year, the expectations rose for the club, with supporters suddenly clamoring for that outcome.
David Moyes didn't make things any better by continuously stating that Europe was the goal for the club, even though any reasonable person could see how complicated that would make next season for the Toffees.
Recent weeks have quelled the fire a bit, as Everton hasn't taken advantage of real opportunities to pick up places in the table, especially in allowing stoppage time goals in three successive weeks, dropping five total points in the process.
Those five points would see Everton rising up to 6th in the Premier League table, a point ahead of Brentford. Instead, the Toffees sit in 10th on 48 points, and while the dream isn't dead, it is on life support.
Everton has three fixtures left before the season ends: away to Crystal Palace on Sunday, home to Sunderland, and away to Tottenham on the season's final day.
Palace is far enough out of the European spots and away from relegation that they might not be terribly concerned about the league. Sunderland are just a point behind Everton and will want to make their own push for Europe. And Spurs, of course, may still need points to avoid relegation on the last day, depending on how the next two matches finish.
But if Everton want Europe, they cannot lose again. Nine points may still not be enough, but anything less almost certainly won't get the job done, even if the Premier League is looking likely to have extra European qualifiers this year.
The Toffees are already pretty dependent on other outcomes to get them across the line, but Moyes' men must take the initiative over the next few weeks if they want to keep the dream alive.
Otherwise, they are more than likely to end up exactly where most expected them to be at season's end anyway: comfortably mid-table and away from yet another relegation scrap.
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