The tsunami came just over a half-hour later, far exceeding even their worst fears.
"We grew our currency-neutral football sales by more than 20% to €2.1bn ($2.31bn), exceeding even our own high expectations".
Already, advance ticket sales for next summer's Tests against Sri Lanka and Pakistan are exceeding even the most optimistic speculation.
On the plus side, education was among the best in the region, exceeding even the US for literacy rates.
Housing sales in July plunged to their lowest level in more than a decade, exceeding even the grimmest forecasts.
Venezuela has pumped 3m barrels a day this year, exceeding even the new, higher quota agreed by OPEC.
Today, the second-largest food company in the world is on the menu of billions of people, exceeding even Rosenfeld's expectations.
Until now, Anthony Weiner's political comeback from his original sexting scandal had been going very much to plan, probably exceeding even his own expectations.
Oxfam's latest report claims that income inequality has reached a new global extreme, exceeding even its predictions from the previous year.
The contest is expected to be the largest design competition ever, exceeding even the 1,421 designs submitted for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
(updated below) The court-martial proceeding of Bradley Manning has, rather ironically, been shrouded in extreme secrecy, often exceeding even that which prevails at Guantanamo military commissions.
