Watching sport like the FFA Cup tonight reminds me of what sport was like as a kid.
Fox's major game tonight was Apia Leichhardt vs the reigning A-league champions Melbourne Victory - at Leichhardt Oval.
It took me back to the old Amco Cup days in RL. Or otherwise named The Tooths Cup and The KB Cup, AND I think there was another name as well. Back in the day when NSWRL teams played against country teams and teams from Qld.
Anyway, tonight, in front of 2600 odd people (about the size crowd the old Amco Cup got), Apia are leading 2-0 at HT. Melbourne reply with two goals early in the 2nd half. Apia score near the end and hold on to win 3-2. 2550 people go mental. 50 people head back to Sydney AP for their return flight home.
Dressing room scenes are amazing for Apia. They've just knocked off the champions of the A-League and are into the round of 16. This is after they played 120 minutes last Saturday in an NPL semi final, and these guys are mostly semi-professionals with day jobs. Probably the biggest upset in the FFA Cup's short history.
Even ESFC struggled against Cairns, winning just 2-1 away.
Then, there were other teams from NPL playing each other providing some pretty impressive goals.
This truly is the best competition in the country. More than 700 teams competed from the beginning, and now we are almost down to the final 8.
Tonight took me back to the night when Western Division beat Penrith in the original Amco Cup.
There's just something special about mid-week comps that involve more teams.