For a time yesterday as brilliant sunshine gave way to a heavy downpour it was possible to gaze at the rainbow over this ground and wonder at the pots of gold that lie in wait for this remarkably youthful and excitingly lucid Leeds United side.
For now and at least the next two weeks they are the pick of the Premiership crop, an elevation which always looked within the scope of David O'Leary's team but one that they ultimately secured only through the flimsy fingers of Alec Chamberlain.
The goalkeeper on whose dependability an unlikely promotion challenge was gloriously concluded last May allowed Harry Kewell's angled shot to slip through his gloves, and so for only the second time since they clinched the final football League championship in 1992 could the men of Yorkshire look down on all the rest. Their seventh successive victory, a sequence beyond all their predecessors who struggled to escape the long shadow of Don Revie's all conquering side, should have been confirmed earlier than that decisive 70th minute.
Leeds always looked to have too many smart ideas for an opposition struggling to reclaim the inspiration that did for Chelsea on this ground a fortnight ago.
Mark Williams' surprise opening goal, taking instant control of a Micah Hyde free kick before drilling his volley low past Nigel Martyn, served as the wake-up call the visitors needed. There was a danger that for all their talent and slick interchange of position they would not really get to grips with the challenge.
"We laboured a little in the first half and I had to say some things," O'Leary said. "After that we got better and dominated quite comfortably."
The manager - "still young, still learning my trade, and I'm certainly not getting carried away" - could excuse Michael Bridges from his criticism as his summer capture from Sunderland was always available for a pass, always willing to have a pot of goal.
Watford's goal came with Lucas Radebe off the field for treatment. How well Williams exploited his absence, though Bridges more than matched him three minutes later when from a position that did not suggest headline material he unleashed a rising drive high into the net.
Certainly Leeds were finding more room now and, following O'Leary's blast, there was more purpose behind their every touch. Alan Smith cleverly released Kewell for a chance from which the young Australian somehow failed to fully extend Chamberlain.
Smith and Bridges were both involved in the next move that allowed Kewell to run at the heart of the defence again. The shot carried more weight but still should have been dealt with, yet for once the veteran goalkeeper came up short.
"It's better to be where we are than at the bottom," said the phlegmatic Leeds manager, who will nevertheless be hoping the team enjoy a longer stay on top than their 24-hour residence last September under George Graham's reign. "But in all my years there has never been any prizes for being first in October."
WATFORD: Chamberlain, Lyttle (Gibbs 45), Page, Williams, Robinson, Hyde, Palmer, Kennedy (Easton 80), Ngonge, Foley (Miller 69), Wooter. Subs Not Used: Wright, Day. Booked: Robinson, Page. Goals: Williams 42.
LEEDS UNITED: Martyn, Kelly, Batty, Woodgate, Harte, Radebe (Mills 42), Bakke, Hopkin (Haaland 86), Kewell, Bridges (Huckerby 69), Smith. Subs Not Used: Robinson, Jones. Booked: Harte. Goals: Bridges 45, Kewell 70.
Referee: A Durso (Billericay).
