A competition that has become little more than a booby prize shared between the so-called big four is enjoying arguably its finest hour.
Has there ever been a double shock of such seismic proportions as Chelsea and Manchester United's elimination this afternoon?
To put it into context, not since 1987 has the last four featured none of Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool or Chelsea.
Add the esteemed names of Tottenham and Everton to that list and you need to go back to 1975 to find a last-four line-up that bears some resemblance to what we might expect when the draw is made on Monday afternoon.
For a competition where major upsets are such a precious commodity, it simply does not get any better than today's extraordinary events.
The 1-0 scoreline in both games does not begin to tell the story of an afternoon full of drama, where heroes emerged and villains were exposed.
Old Trafford was the scene of pure farce, United inventing new ways of failing to score before contriving to gift Portsmouth a penalty that handed them their first win there since 1957.
Yes, Pompey were fortunate, but take luck out of football and a much poorer game it would be.
Luck is hardly the word you can use to describe Barnsley's victory over Chelsea, their second straight success over one of the giants of the game.
Not content with their Anfield exploits against Liverpool, the Tykes delivered a Herculean performance under the Oakwell floodlights.
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