FA Cup Final Tickets

Well; The golden tickets for the FA Cup Final were delivered on Thursday - thank you 'Mr Postman', and thank you especially to my mate at Hampshire FA. re-arrangement of plans over the weekend, and Mum talking nicely to her Boss to get Saturday afternoon off!! and we're away.

It's a 2 hour trip down to Wembley, relatively quiet until the M6 threw the Man United supporters onto the M1. We stopped at the services, which were a sea of Red, queuing at the various food stalls, as though they hadn't eaten for a week I did spot one Crystal Palace car drive into the services, and pretty much immediately drive out again.

I love the walk towards Wembley. As soon as you leave the tube, you hear the singing, the cheers, the shouting. You see groups of people with flags wrapped around them, parents holding their children, whilst the children look in awe at all those crowds. It's thrilling, it's exciting, I love it.

Inside the stadium we found our seats. The very back seats - Mum joked with the staff about taking altitude sickness tablets. Once settled in, the view of the pitch was great. The noise was immense, and we could stand up without bothering anyone. Plus we had a shelf for our drinks which was cool

Personally I thought that Crystal Palace were unfortunate. the first half was disappointing with reference to attacks at goal, the game needed a goal to take it up a notch. When the goal did come, the crowd lifted, and the game followed suit.  The football was so much more exciting after this, all the way through extra time as well.

Although our seats were good, I need to really watch the game again on TV for the better view of the tackles and decisions. This morning on my run I passed a couple of people who I know very well, both had things to say about some of the decisions made.Whilst we were at Wembley I had my usual half-time telephone conversation with my Grandad, who said that the decisions were good. No matter what, decisions are made in a split second, they are given by a referee, based on what he has seen, and are given with absolute good intention.

As far as the players go - It was. 'Super Sub Saturday', they made the difference to everything. They came on with fresh legs, fresh eyes, and were a breath of fresh air.

To be fair. This is the FA Cup Final - Anything can happen!!!! It's not like any other match, it's a friendship tournament where any team could play against a premiership team, or a lower league team. And the friendship goes across to the crowds, where families enjoy this spectacle of football, pomp of showmanship and extravaganza of events.