DUE to the vagaries of print deadlines (and a late kick-off), I am having to write this piece before Lincoln's away clash at Arsenal has even kicked off – so excuse me for not daring to predict the future (insert your score here).
However, my message isn't really a reflection of Saturday's game or the result, but rather a celebration of a cup contest that many people claim to be well past its sell-buy date. Those people who chastise it obviously have little or no passion for the game at ‘grassroots' level.
Many point to the First Round Proper and the Third Round as focal points of the FA Cup – which they are. They remember the upsets in January and the semi-final clashes at Wembley.
I see that; you can't buy moments like Tim Buzaglo and Woking sinking West Bromwich Albion in 1991, and Gazza's free-kick against Arsenal later the same year – followed by Barry Davies' ‘School boys own stuff' line – has rightly gone down in cup folklore.
But the minnows of Non-League – those sides who thrash it out in the mud and nettles of the preliminary rounds – create their own slice of history, and we are proud to be a part of cup football in its most pure and natural form.
For us here at The Non-League Paper, the Cup kicked off on the opening day of the season (back on August 6) when we had our eyes on no fewer than 178 fixtures in the Extra Preliminary Round.
When penning this column, I looked back on our coverage; we served up four pages and featured reports from 22 games with an extensive round-up (sorry, but even our willing manpower couldn't cover each game individually).
These games may be small fry to even Non-League fans higher up the pyramid, but not for the likes of Jeremiah Dasaolu – who slotted home a 99th-minute equaliser playing for Loughborough University against Shirebrook – and Tommy Mooney, who likewise netted in the dying minutes to hand Spelthorne Sports a dramatic victory over Hartley Wintney.
It sounds a bit weepy, but in years to come, whether it's with the offspring sat on their knee or to random people in the pub, these guys will be able to proudly declare that they played lead roles, in their own mini production, in the greatest cup competition in the world.
The FA Cup still needs a bit of work to bring it back to its former glory, nobody is denying that. The payment structure requires particular attention so that we can look after the game where it needs the most love. But it's still a national institution we should be proud of.
Lincoln and Sutton's journeys have flown the flag for the Non-League game (not all of it has been good), and even those short-sighted fans in the Premier League who expect everything on a plate (read David Preece here for more on that) have had half an eye on their progress.
So let's cherish and protect the cup and recognise the wonderful product we have. Here at The NLP, we're already rolling our sleeves up for the ride that will start again in five months' time.
