Make no mistake about it: the crowd at Elland Road didn't want Brenden Aaronson back. He returned to Leeds last summer, but wasn't exactly welcomed with open arms.
After a rough year on loan at Union Berlin, Leeds fans were - how to say this? - less than excited to see the American back on the squad. And they were not shy with their opinions.
How sweet it must have been, then, for Aaronson to see those fans from a different altitude. With the rest of his teammates, he looked out over thousands of fans from the top of a tour bus last weekend, celebrating both Leeds' Championship title win and the corresponding promotion to the Premier League.
Vindication, some would say. A hell of a turnaround, you could call it, too.
Aaronson had proved many wrong. Not everyone, however. There is no bigger leap in this sport than that move from the Championship to the Premier League, and everyone at Leeds is now preparing for all that goes with it. Staying up as a newly-promoted club requires a Herculean effort and, if Leeds intend to remain, they'll need to have the right pieces in place.
Is Aaronson one of those pieces? What will a second crack at the Premier League look like? And beyond the club implications, how will all of this impact his U.S. men's national team future?
All of those questions became relevant the moment Aaronson stepped off the bus. The celebration is effectively over and - as nice as it was - Aaronson and Leeds now have bigger challenges ahead.