This can't be History! It hasn't finished happening yet!

Yesterday I watched the FA Cup Final, between Wigan and Manchester City.

Wigan were the underdogs, but they won, and they deserved to.  They were the better team, and so when they scored in the 90th minute I was pleased for them.  It reminded me of the first FA Cup Final I watched in 1978 when underdogs Ipswich beat the favourites Arsenal.  That final was also similar in that Ipswich played better, had lots of chances, but didn't score till near the end.  When they did score it was completely deserved, justice was done blah blah blah.

My enjoyment of Wigan's last minute winner was however, spoiled somewhat by Clive Tyldesley, who, nanoseconds after the winning goal, set off on a speed-talking sprintathon down Hyperbole Avenue which didn't stop for about 20 minutes, going on and on about what a historic moment it was, and how it was the most historic moment since 1988 when Wimbledon won, and then he pretty much went through all the underdog goalscorers they've ever been in the history of the FA Cup.  He also pointed out that goalscorer Ben Watson looks like Prince Harry, and then tried his best to get a load of Royal references in there too.  I would have switched the telly off, or kicked it in, but I wanted to see Wigan celebrate their success.  The only time good ol' Clive stopped talking was to allow the equally naff Andy Townsend to get a few equally nonsensical words in, about finding the last piece of the jigsaw and other unrelated tosh.

please see previous rant about over-excited commentators

Later in the evening, I found a documentary on ITV about Aberdeen winning the European Cup Winners Cup in 1983, when Alex Ferguson was the manager, and they beat Real Madrid in the final in Gothenburg.  The programme itself was absolutely excellent, but a special treat was the highlights of the Final, which was commentated on by Brian Moore and Ian St John.  Tyldesley and Townsend they are most definitely not!  They didn't go on about history in the making and all that, they just talked about the actual game they were commentating on, and what was happening in it.  And sometimes, when there was nothing that needed saying, because it was all up there on the screen, they didn't do any talking at all.  They just sat there quietly.  

if you want to see what I mean, follow this link

It's fair to say that when I was 15 and I watched Aberdeen win the Cup Winners Cup I was aware of what a good team they were, but I probably didn't fully appreciate the quality of the two guys in the commentary box.

Brian Moore died in 2001.  Something I didn't know about him was that he was a lifelong Gillingham fan and the club's fanzine was called 'Brian Moore's Head looks like London Planetarium', which in turn is named after a line in the Half Man Half Biscuit Song 'Dickie Davies' Eyes'.

here's the video. I think the guy smashing his flat up at the end might have just finished watching Tyldesley

I pinched this little excerpt from the fanzine's website:

The recent loss of Brian Moore was felt right across the British game. He was an icon, and not just because of the shape of his head. For many of us during our formative years he represented the face of football on ITV – fronting The Big Match on a Sunday afternoon. His commentaries were knowledgeable and passionate. His love for the game was obvious for all to see (and hear).

He was from an era where football was less about money and greed and more about the sheer childish joy of watching the game. His style was unique and his reading of the game on a par with any of his peers. He came across as a true gentleman without the arrogance or ego of many within the game.

There are millions of reasons why you could argue that modern day football isn't what it used to be.  That's maybe why football commentators over-excitedly seize on any drama whatsoever and shout it from the rooftops.

I miss lots of things about the football I remember from my youth.  And since yesterday, I miss Brian Moore too.