Wigan at Wembley

My tribute to the fabulous cup upset in today's FA Cup Final. Today Wigan, still favourites to fill the third and final relegation spot from the Premier League, beat Manchester City, league runners-up and last season's champions, 1-0 with a very late goal. Almost 28 years ago I went to Wembley to watch Wigan play Brentford in the old Freight Rover Trophy Final (aka the Football League Trophy). Slightly on a whim, on a sunny summer Saturday I decided to get the tube across North London from the hall of residence where I was living during my year as a student at the LSE. As was generally my habit watching football in the capital that year I lent my support to the northern team and therefore was on the terraces (yes, still terraces at Wembley back then) with the vastly outnumbered Wigan supporters. There were almost 40,000 people there, but many more in the Brentford end as you can see in one of the pictures I took on the day. In another of the pictures there are a couple of small figures posing for a photograph on their way off the pitch. Pretty sure they are George Best and Bobby Charlton who had played against each other in a charity match to raise funds for the victims on the Bradford City fire (exactly twenty-eight years ago today - remembering the 56 who died that day). Just like today, Wigan won the cup, beating Brentford 3-1. Felt a little odd being there at someone else's party. Wonder how many Wigan fans who were there on the terraces with me that day were back today to see them upset the odds and win the FA Cup?