In the last decade or so, Lincoln have been promoted from non-League, played in an FA Cup quarter-final, been to Wembley a few times and won a first trophy there. Yet Saturday is being branded as the club's biggest game in 65 years.
The Imps sit second in League One and host third-placed Bolton at Sincil Bank. Win and it opens up a nine-point lead over the chasing pack for the automatic promotion spots.
If it happens, there would be a long way to go of course - 15 games would remain - but it would send fans into dreamland in anticipation of a first second-tier appearance since 1961. Yet for head coach Michael Skubala, there is a call for calm.
"Whenever a big team comes to town and both are second or third, it'll always feel like a bigger game," Skubala tells Sky Sports. "But, for me, we just do what we do and we just try and go after the next three points.
"There are still 48 points left to play for in this league - and we've done absolutely nothing.
"The beauty and the difficulty of football is that it can turn really quick. So we just need to concentrate on this next game, which is worth the same as last week's three points.
"Of course, it's an exciting game and there'll be a packed crowd, so it'll be a good atmosphere. But it's all worth the same to me."
There is every reason to believe Lincoln can get over the line though. The Imps are on a 13-game unbeaten streak in League One - branded one of the most challenging divisions to get out of due to its sheer competitiveness.
It has been nearly three months since Lincoln last lost a league game - but that unbeaten run has taken them from outside the play-off spots to right in the mix for automatic promotion.
Skubala's side were struggling for consistency in October and November - so what has changed?
"We want to play quick," the Lincoln boss says. "We're a front-footed, aggressive team.
"And sometimes that takes time for players to understand how to do that in the way that we want to do it here - and they develop into it.
"It's just the nature of coaching. Sometimes you've just got to wait for things to develop, which is great. And then the lads need to go and perform, which they have done brilliantly over the last couple of months."
Lincoln fans have had to face their fair share of league heartbreak over the last few years. Five years ago, they needed to hang on for one more hour of football to seal promotion to the Championship via the play-offs, but lost a lead to Blackpool.
Two seasons ago, at the end of Skubala's first term at the club, they missed out on those play-offs on the final day.
After last season brought about an 11th-placed finish, questions were asked on whether the club could get that close to the Championship again, especially being in the bottom six or seven teams in terms of budget. But lessons were learned.
"We've obviously got a good depth to the squad this year," says Skubala. "The strategy in the summer was that we didn't want to get into December and January and not have enough bodies because that's what we thought hurt us last year.
"We've managed to evade that with a bit of luck, but also through the depth. And now we go into the business end of the season in a really good position."
But one thing they have kept on from last term is their threat from set-pieces. Lincoln were the top third-tier team from dead-ball scenarios last season and, with 19 goals from them this term, that trend has continued. They are once again top in League One in that department - and fourth overall in England's top four divisions.
A lot has been made about their use of data in AI in becoming set-piece experts, with Skubala first looking into technological advantages when he was at Leeds - but gaining a respect for the dead ball when he worked in England's futsal coaching set-up.
"People probably don't understand it, but set-pieces are a big part of the game of futsal as well," says Skubala, who coached West Ham defender Max Kilman in that national team set-up.
But the problem with being a 'Set-Piece FC' - with a long throw and a physical style of play in the penalty area - is it can lead to the occasional snarky comment.
For example, after a recent 2-2 draw, Luton head coach Jack Wilshere quipped that Skubala's Lincoln "only really care about putting balls into the box".
"I love putting balls into the box!" Skubala says when those quotes are put to him. "If I could get more balls in the box, I'd put more balls in the box! It's what hurts teams.
"I think it's a really fair comment because that's what we want to do and how we want to do it. If I could have more balls in the box, 100 box entries, I'd take it."
And in any case, Lincoln are more than just 'Set-Piece FC' - they would not be in the position they are if they simply were.
"I have enough grey hair," says Skubala. "I've been in the game long enough to understand also that there's basic principles that can't drop off. If they drop off, nothing matters.
"Set-pieces have never been not important. They've always been important. It's just how you get the players there now and how you coach them, that might be slightly different.
"The ball and the green stuff and the two goals have never moved and it's 11 v 11, so they stay the same."
Should Lincoln reach the generational dreamland of the Championship, their supporters will not care how they got there.
There is a buzz around the city as the business end of the season approaches, and, with the weight of history overhanging, Skubala knows the supporters will be behind the team for that huge Bolton encounter.
"Lincoln fans are amazing," he says. "It's not just this game, I think the city's buzzing with the life of football and it really supports the team and gets behind the lads. That's what you want.
"As a manager, it's my job to sometimes be the conduit between the fans and the players and the club. And I think there's a real connection between the city and the players."
