One of the undoubted perks of blogging is that, occasionally, you get invited to do some very cool things.A few weeks ago my son & my husband were guests of the Football Association at Wembley Stadium as their team Arsenal played in the Semi-Final of the FA Cup.
They had the most amazing day, got to stand within touching distance as the players arrived & got off the team coach & then they were allowed to walk out on to the famous Wembley pitch, giving them some sense of what a fantastic stadium it is & how it must feel to play on.They then watched the match, sitting in wonderful seats & celebrated as Arsenal finally won in extra time.
A very very exciting experience!!
I grew up as part of a rugby family, it is the national sport in Wales after all & football was not on my radar at all....but then I married a London Italian and, although he's not as football-mad as some, suddenly the World Cup, Euro 96 & a whole team of rather handsome Italian footballers became part of my life.
When I think of the FA Cup, I think of it as a family experience, whether it's the players on the pitch at the end celebrating their win with their families or watching fathers & their children walking up Wembley Way towards the famous stadium.
There is something special about Wembley & the FA Cup, in particular....today's Final will be watched by millions the world over & thousands will have got up early this morning to make the journey, flags & scarves flying from cars & coaches.It's a short journey for the Arsenal fans to Wembley, both are situated in North London...but it's always an exciting one, full of anticipation.
I think the FA Cup final is one to watch even if you're not a huge football fan, I can remember both my grandads watching it, from a spectator's point of view there's fun, tradition & a sense of history.And there's always a chance that the underdog might win, you just never know on the day.
The sun always seems to shine on FA Cup day & for many families, like my son, it will be a day that they'll never forget.
