HAD video technology been part of football two decades ago, would there have been a different outcome in the Hampden sun for the Pars?
With almost an hour gone on May 22, 2004, Jimmy Calderwood's team were a goal up thanks to Andrius Skerla's first half opener.
Athletic had survived a goal against them being chalked off prior to the Lithuanian centre back's glory goal, which saw him loop a header home, with Celtic goalkeeper, David Marshall, under pressure from Derek Young.
Calderwood, afterwards, said that he "wouldn't have been happy if that had happened to my keeper", but the goal stood, and Dunfermline were in the driving seat to lift the famous trophy for a third time.
Then, in the second half, the momentum shifted at the national stadium.
A Pars corner led to Chris Sutton clearing the ball upfield and Henrik Larsson, after getting away from Aaron Labonte, ran in behind to score an equaliser for the Hoops.
However, when the corner was delivered, Celtic centre back, Bobo Balde, handled the ball in the penalty area before Sutton's ball forward - a moment that was missed by match referee, Stuart Dougal.
Larsson, in his last game in green and white, went on to score again, before Stiliyan Petrov's well-taken goal late on sent the trophy to Celtic Park.
Nicholson, who captained the team in the absence of the injured Scott Thomson, reckons that had VAR been in place 20 years ago, the chance to double their lead from the spot would've been awarded.
"I think those big moments swing the game," he told Press Sport.
"These days, it would definitely be given with VAR, but it was disappointing. We felt it was a penalty. There was a big claim in the box for a penalty - I remember Craw and Brew really claiming strongly.
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"I don't know if I hit the corner, Gary Dempsey might've hit the corner, but I think I was outside the box but didn't see it clearly. Certainly the lads in the box felt it was a definite, stonewaller, and when you see it back on the telly, it looked like Balde punched the ball using his hands.
"Then, very quickly after that, the ball got put up the other end of the pitch, and I think young Aaron made a slip. Aaron was outstanding, he was a really good young player on loan from Newcastle. I really liked Aaron, he was a good player, but, unfortunately, Larsson nipped in, took the ball and he scored.
"Those moments can change the game. Obviously the final score of 3-1 would tell you that we possibly weren't going to win the game anyway, but I think if we'd got the penalty, and myself, or Craw, or whoever was going to take it, had stepped up and scored, it might've been a different ending to the cup final, but it wasn't to be."
Crawford reflected: "We can always look back in hindsight. I'm still convinced, when I do look back at some footage, that the corner kick comes in and it clearly comes off Balde's hand.
"I actually thought it was Alan Thompson at the time, but when I watched in years gone by, Chris Sutton plays a great ball, Larsson peels his run, and an experienced defender would've struggled against Larsson. For Aaron Labonte to find himself in that situation was nearly impossible, and Larsson did what he did best.
"I think it's testament to the squad that, one, we were able to go ahead in the cup final, and, equally, give Celtic a game because I think they had only lost two league games that season.
"That's the force we were up against that day. We never got the result, we were bitterly disappointed, and I think that shows signs of the expectancy we put on ourselves, but it just wasn't meant to be."
'We were confident but it wasn't meant to be'
One of those two losses Celtic sustained came three weeks before the final, to Dunfermline, at Celtic Park.
On a day that saw Martin O'Neill's men presented with the SPL trophy - they won the league with a mammoth points total of 98, 17 ahead of Rangers, and set a Scottish record of 25 successive wins - Barry Nicholson and Dempsey, either side of a Larsson header, gave the Pars a surprise 2-1 success.
"It was obviously going to be tough against probably the best team in the league at the time, but we'd obviously beaten them a couple of weeks beforehand, in the game where they got the trophy in the league at Parkhead," Nicholson continued.
"We won 2-1, so it was a game, the Scottish Cup final, where we felt we've already beaten them, so can we go and do it again? Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be.
"I think we took the confidence from that performance because they were strong in that game at Parkhead. They were getting the trophy, so they didn't rest anybody or anything like that, so it was a full strength Celtic team that we played.
"We played really well. Jimmy was really good tactically, as everybody knows. He was brilliant tactically against some of the bigger teams. He came up with some different ideas of how to stop them, and then how we could hurt the opposition, so I think we took confidence from that game at Parkhead.
"I think the first half performance at Hampden probably showed that. I thought we were really good in the first half at Hampden, and obviously got into half-time with a 1-0 lead.
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"It was a difficult second half, and Larsson's last game - it was probably written in the stars that he was going to do something special in the second half."
Crawford added: "Thinking back, I think we were under the cosh in the early parts of that game.
"We managed to fight through it - it was important not to concede a goal - we get a wee goal, Andrius gets his goal five minutes before half-time, and we manage to hold on into half-time.
"Then the sucker-punch comes in the incident that possibly could've seen us get a penalty on another day, and the harsh reality is Derek Stillie was picking the ball out the back of the net.
"I think after that, we still sort of dealt with Celtic's pressure, but I think Larsson again - it was a great wee ball through by Alan Thompson - a great turn by him, and he's struck it away with his left foot.
"Equally, when you look at it, dying minutes of the game, five minutes to go, you're trying your hardest to try and get an equaliser, but it was a great bit of quality. The ball into Petrov in the box, and his sidestep away - I'm not sure if it was Andrius he sidestepped, Andrius has dived into the tackle, thinking he's going to shoot - the composure, and then the quality of Petrov. He was an unbelievable player for Celtic over the years.
"Unfortunately, on the day itself, we didn't go on to win the final, but we definitely gave Celtic a run for their money."
Hosted by Rob Maclean, who was the BBC's lead football commentator back in 2004, it will feature archive footage from every round.
Those in attendance will also have the first chance to buy a specially produced replica shirt from the final, of which there are a limited run, before any that remain go on general sale.
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