I am coaching a team in the FA Cup. I remember the first FA Cup I saw live (1977 -- Man U defeated Liverpool 2-1, all three goals coming in about a five minute spell of the second half.) Growing up playing street soccer in the US, I was pretty sure I would never play in a World Cup, but the FA Cup seemed to be a possible dream. ABC again showed the final in 1982, when QPR took Tottenham to a replay. I was playing organized ball by then, and I dreamed of walking out in front of 100,000 at Wembley.
Well, there certainly won't be 100,000 at Preston Sports Arena this afternoon. And there will be no television cameras. However, there will be an American on the bench for Preston North End, and hopefully the work I have done over the last two months will help us move one step closer to lifting the cup.
