My longest ever football memory was 40 years ago this weekend. I don't remember having any interest in football before May 1973, my Dad was a lapsed visitor to The Valley working weekends and providing for his family amidst power cuts and miner strikes, so I suspect the opportunity to sit down as a family to watch the pinnacle of the season was one that he was looking forward to.
There was the added romance as underdogs Sunderland had made it through to the final to take on the might of Don Revie's Leeds United. It was a fantastic match, high on emotion and typical of FA Cup finals in those days and I was hooked for decades and there had to be a bloody good excuse to miss sitting in front of the telly with the family on FA Cup final day.
Heroes that day 40 years ago were Sunderland's goalkeeper Jim Montgomery, who made a wonder save from Peter Lorimer and Ian Porterfield, who scored the winning goal in the 1st half to stun the favourites and cheer a nation outside of Leeds!
The romance maybe dead when it comes to the FA Cup but I will still be sat in front of the television on Saturday with a head full of great Cup Final memories.
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