That is why the Lions have suffered their biggest defeats and pulled off their greatest heroics on that famous old ground - all or nothing, death or glory are the stakes being played for here.
It began badly: on July 25, 1908, the Lions - or the Anglo-Welsh combination representing them that year - played their first ever Test in Auckland and were given a nine-try, 29-0 beating that stood for almost three-quarters of a century as the tourists' worst result.
Nine days short of that 75th anniversary, in 1983, Ciaran Fitzgerald's defeated, dispirited Lions were crushed 38-6 by Andy Dalton's All Blacks, who ran in six tries along the way.
The 1993 Lions at least had the series still to play for when they lined out at Eden Park, and even built up a 10-0 lead midway through the first half.
But Gavin Hastings' men eventually ran out of gas and were unable to reproduce their heroics of the second Test and finished well beaten by 30 points to 13.
A Test match victory at Eden Park, then, may be considered the hallmark of a great Lions side. Or, as only one set of British and Irish tourists has achieved that win, perhaps the category should be extended also to those who drew or lost only narrowly.
In that last class sit the Lions of 1950 and 1977.
Karl Mullen's heroes of 1950 had drawn the opening Test in Dunedin but lost the next two by narrow margins. The All Blacks came through again at Eden Park, by 11-8, but not before the Lions had produced one of the most thrilling comebacks in their history.
New Zealand appeared to be cruising at 11-3 with five minutes to play when Ken Jones scored a length-of-the-field try, converted by Lewis Jones, to cut the gap to three and spark a finale in which the Lions did everything but score and had the home crowd chanting 'Red! Red! Red!' as they roared the visitors on.
The final five minutes also provided the abiding memory of the 1977 Auckland Test, albeit one the Lions would want to forget.
At that point they led 9-6 and had a share of the series within their grasp, only for New Zealand full-back Bill Osborne to follow up his own kick and, with help from Graham Mourie, turn over possession for Lawrie Knight to score a match and series-winning try.
Which leaves the two Lions sides arguably most blessed with backline genius, both of whom secured their place in history on the turf of Eden Park - the stars of 1959 and 1971.
In 1971, the Lions arrived 2-1 up and knowing the series could not be lost. Winning it was still the proverbial big ask, though, and the team that had made its reputation with adventurous running rugby now shut up shop to get the result they wanted.
In a tight, tense game, a collector's item, long-range drop goal from JPR Williams - he kicked only three in his entire career - proved enough to give his team a 14-14 draw that made them the only Lions to win a series in New Zealand.
John Dawes' men remain out on their own in that respect, but the legends of 1959 are also unique in being the only Lions to win a final Test in New Zealand, or more specifically at Eden Park.
The free spirits of Tony O'Reilly, Peter Jackson, Ken Scotland, Bev Risman, David Hewitt et al reckoned they were owed a result after their four tries of the first Test were edged out by Don Clarke's world-record six penalties.
In Auckland, they got it and in the free-flowing style to which their audiences had become accustomed during their stay.
O'Reilly and Jackson got the ball rolling with special tries in the second half, but two Clarke penalties left the scores level and the result in the balance, until Risman scored a spectacular try from 40 yards to win the game.
Any repeat on Saturday - regardless of how long the odds - would elevate the 2005 Lions into one extremely exclusive club.
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