This was not quite crashing the party; more a case of turning up once everyone has taken their seat. Everyone knew that gold would belong to Scotland - but it was supposed to belong to Michael Jamieson, the local boy who learned to swim a stones-throw away at Springburn Leisure Centre. Not his Scottish mate.
Ross Murdoch was instead the champion and Jamieson was consigned to second best. Any other home gold would be greeted with pure elation, but the Glaswegian crowd were not quite sure how to react. Most cheered, some simply clapped.
The poster boy status of Scotland's Games undoubtedly belonged to Jamieson. He was the world number one - the banker for those who pinned up their fan-club posters around the temporary stands inside Tollcross.
But he had to settle for silver - and he looked distinctly unsettled as he slumped over his lane divider at the end of the race. New Zealand's Lauren Boyle showed in the morning session how an athlete can thrive when they are free from the weight of expectation. In Jamieson's case, the pressure proved too much.
Murdoch was fully deserving of the win and his performance will send shockwaves around the world of swimming. He swam a fine race - setting a new British and Commonwealth record - and even if Jamieson was at his best, which he was not, he would have struggled to match the speed.
In any other circumstances it would have been the perfect victory, just not here. The writing was on the wall when Murdoch smashed the Games record in qualifying. Jamieson, we assumed, was simply saving himself for the final.
But the big performance did not arrive. Not even Glasgow's hollers of support - the loudest heard at the Games so far - could help speed up the poster boy's strokes. Jamieson clocked in more than a second behind his rival. He did not need to look up at the results on the big screen; he knew he was beaten.
Eventually Jamieson pulled himself off the ropes with eyes looking like they had seen too much chlorine. Even the bronze medallist, England's Andrew Willis, felt obliged to swim over and give the Scotsman a consoling rub of the head.
And so the formalities began. Jamieson, Murdoch and Willis took their place on the podium and - with Flower of Scotland being played by a band of kilted bagpipers - the winner broke into tears. He was not alone. The 4,000 supporters inside Tollrcross sang along to the national anthem, but they just wanted to sing a little louder.
