A day of drama in the Championship last Sunday brought the season to a thrilling and fulfilling end for the Seasiders as their 1-1 draw with Watford at Bloomfield Road provided the point they needed going into the game to clinch survival and another season in the second tier of English football.
When the season opened with a hard fought 1-0 victory at the Walkers Stadium, few people would have predicted that Leicester would end the season dropping into League One.
But their failure to win at Stoke on Sunday means they join Scunthorpe and Colchester in the league where Blackpool have spent so much of the last thirty years.
The draw was also enough to guide Watford into the play-offs, so there was a touch of predictability about the result. Blackpool got off to a flyer when the ball fell to Ben Burgess in the box in the second minute, following a Wes Hoolahan corner, and he buried the chance.
Keeper Paul Rachubka came to the rescue on 17 minutes with a fine double save, keeping out Nathan Ellington and Darius Henderson. Watford inevitably piled on the pressure in search of the point they needed and Shaun Barker was twice required to clear off the line before McPhee almost doubled the lead on the break when a fine run and strike ended with the ball rebounding back into play off the foot of the post.
Watford were reduced to ten men on the hour mark when Henderson received his second yellow card but they followed that up two minutes later with an equaliser from Tommy Smith, who carried the ball up field unchallenged and struck the ball across Rachubka into the bottom corner of his net.
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The game petered out after that as results from elsewhere led both sides to believe that their respective jobs were done.
The final whistle brought to an end a monumental, season-long effort by the players and staff at the club.
Apart from a few lacklustre performances at places like Hillsborough, Ninian Park and Plymouth, the team has looked completely at home in this league, despite relying heavily on the players who achieved promotion from League One.
It was all a bit too close for comfort in the last few weeks which leads us to wonder what made the difference between success and failure.
You can point to the six points taken off Leicester, the ten points from four games over Christmas, the eight points taken off Preston and Burnley in the local derbies, the loan signing and goals of Paul Dickov, and the increase in fortunes after he signed, and the crucial win over Sheffield Wednesday in the penultimate home game.
But the key thing perhaps has been the effort of the manager, his coaches and the players, who have played with incredible belief and determination against clubs with much higher attendances and greater resources and held their own superbly.
The fans, too, must take credit for the way they have continued to get behind the side week after week.
Next season will not be any easier. With Nottingham Forest and Swansea, both well supported clubs, replacing Colchester and Scunthorpe, and the possibility that Leeds United will come up via the play-offs, the Seasiders will probably be fighting against bigger clubs in every match.
Strength can be drawn though from the fact that the vast majority of the matches this season have been close affairs, and three much bigger clubs finished this season below Blackpool - Southampton, Coventry and Leicester.
The word on the fans lips right now is investment. The squad will need investment to replace outgoing players and build a stronger side for what will be a tough season, and the stadium is crying out for expansion.
There will be at least a partial break-up of what has been the most successful team in tangerine for three decades, with the loss of Keigan Parker and the likely loss of Wes Hoolahan plus the release of a number of other squad members to make way for new arrivals.
It will be a sad day if Wes Hoolahan does depart, as expected, and he will be fondly remembered as one of the key elements in the resurgence of the club. Parker too, despite his problems and lack of success this season, will always be remembered for his contribution to the promotion season and his stunning goal at Wembley 12 months ago.
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