"It's so good, man," said Jacob Ramsey - and it was. He had already taken a moment with the club photographer to see how a great day had been captured for posterity. "Growing up, I was a Villa fan. I know what it means to go to Wembley."
Every good Aston Villa team of recent memory has had at least one player with that authentic local connection - Gary Shaw, Ian Taylor, Lee Hendrie, Stan Collymore, Gabby Agbonlahor and others - able to appreciate the scale of the team's footballing achievements, not only with his head, but with his heart.
Dean Smith took that connection into the manager's office. There is no doubt the Villa players from the rest of the world also get what it means to the fans and give their all accordingly, but if it is the club to which you have been dedicated your whole life, you are going to feel something extra.
Now Premier League squads are collections of worldwide talent, the hometown boy can sometimes be underestimated, almost a sentimental presence in the squad. They can also be viewed mainly as bargaining chips, representing pure profit in PSR terms.
All indications are that Unai Emery does not see Ramsey like this.
For understandable reasons, Ramsey's name was often suggested as a saleable asset last summer, when Villa were flirting with the financial limits. But whenever asked about him, Emery has strongly insisted that he wants Ramsey around.
"Teams may be involved in the possibility to sign him, because he is a potentially big, big player for Aston Villa and England," Emery said last summer. "I want to keep him here - 100%."
Injuries have held him back at times in the past year or two, but Ramsey has re-established himself as a regular pick, even in such a powerful squad. He has proved himself efficient, competitive and smart, working out what the team needs.
On Sunday, he talked thoughtfully about the alterations needed to support Marcus Rashford up front rather than Ollie Watkins, in a manner that suggested a clear thinker of the game at such a high, technical level.
The boy from Great Barr is living out the dreams of the 5,000 in the away end at Preston and many thousands more who will watch him at Wembley.
Ramsey appears not at all dazzled by the experience of playing for his childhood club alongside elite-level talent, and is proving himself worthy of equal billing.
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