The half-and-half scarves were already on sale on the walk to Rodney Parade. The little boy perusing the club shop after the victory over Wrexham wrapped his around his neck, one half amber, the other half red. Newport County on one side, Manchester United on the other.
There was still a week to go until Newport faced the English giants in the fourth-round of the FA Cup but even on the day their Hollywood rivals Wrexham came to town, a woman from Cardiff was out flogging scarves on a pop-up stand along the high street.
'Was up all night knitting them,' she joked.
She travels the country selling them for different games and different grounds. United coming to South Wales is clearly big business.
It certainly is for Newport fans. Hundreds queued for hours at Rodney Parade on Thursday to get their hands on a golden ticket. Some didn't make it to the ticket office before the shutters came down and had to return the next day. One arrived at on Friday at 4am to make sure he was first.
They've hosted big clubs to Rodney Parade in recent years, Tottenham in 2018 and Man City the following year. They took Brentford to penalties in the League Cup this season.
United still hits different. It's turned a visit of their fierce Welsh rivals in the league for the first time in over a decade into a warm-up act. Newport's 1-0 win over Wrexham in front of a rocking, roaring sell-out crowd proved the perfect rehearsal.
Cynics scoff these days at the dwindling magic of the FA Cup but ties like the one on Sunday prove it still glimmers from time to time and, for so many, in so many different ways.
Seb Palmer-Houlden scored the winner against Wrexham on Saturday. He's on loan from Bristol City and remembers being a ballboy when the Robins dumped United out of the League Cup in 2017. His dad, Simon, tweeted that maybe it's Newport's lucky omen.
'That was an amazing feeling,' said Palmer-Houlden.
'Cup nights are really special. I was watching Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic and good old Korey Smith scored the winner. It showed what can happen in the Cup.
'I cannot wait for it. It's a boyhood dream to play a big team like that. Bring on Manchester United!
'You have to enjoy these moments, they don't come around very often. To everyone, especially the United fans in the dressing room, it's going to mean a lot to them.'
There's a few of them, not to mention manager Graham Coughlan. Newport stalwart Scot Bennett, too, as well as local lad Nathan Woods. Woods returned to the club in the summer after eight years in the Welsh leagues and last year worked in a coffee shop near the training ground.
'Nathan is a massive United fan,' added Palmer-Houlden. 'It's his boyhood club against his dream club. It will be a really big occasion for him and he's the nicest man I've ever met so I hope he enjoys the moment.'
Newport forward Will Evans worked on his dad's farm and is now facing the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford.
For the club itself a £400,000 payday - only a few bob more than the weekly salary of United's highest earners - is vital to the lifeblood of clubs of Newport's size.
When United do arrive at Rodney Parade, they are in for a shock to their system used to the comforts of the Premier League.
The away dressing room, which Mail Sport was given exclusive access to last week, is no bigger than one you'd find in Sunday League. Faded grey walls, beige tiles, peeling plaster, a fold-up table, a physios chair, a couple of bins and two urinals.
The away dugout only holds 13 so United will have to find some emergency chairs for all the hangers-on and it's so close to the home fans there will be no place to hide.
If Wrexham is anything to go by, the 8,000 home supporters can make Rodney Parade an intimidating place to go.
Coughlan, however, is a little more realistic.
'United play in front of 75,000 every week so I don't think 9,000 here will upset them or knocked them out their rhythm,' he said.
'It's a brilliant tie against a great football club, probably the biggest in the world, with world-class players. It's a great test for us and brilliant for the football club. I just hope we can go and do ourselves justice.
'It's a special occasion, a special weekend, go and enjoy it but, go on, give it a go and see what can happen.
'We are going to need a lot of luck, inspirational performances all over, decisions to go our way, the break of the ball, our goalkeeper is going to have to be on form, we are going to have to take our moments, with all our players performing at their maximum. If all that happens, maybe we can… keep the score down!'
Erik ten Hag said last week that he knows 'nothing' about Newport County.
'Well, I know a lot about Manchester United,' responded Coughlan, who will welcome his counterpart for a drink after the game. 'I don't have an office but I'll invite him upstairs!'