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IT’S the first major Wembley final in my lifetime.
Well actually, I’m using a bit of artistic licence there.
I was just a baby when Saints fans made their way up Wembley Way to take on Nottingham Forest in the League Cup final in 1979.
No doubt my parents were having exactly the same dilemma my husband and I are currently facing.
Who on earth do we trust to look after our little girl who isn’t a Saints fan?!
The fact that it’s been such a long time coming says it all really.
Every year we think it might be our year. Every January 1st I religiously note all the cup run dates in my diary to avoid clashes. And every year, almost without fail, we are knocked out early on by the likes of Crystal Palace or Sunderland.
But they are bogey teams no longer after a great League Cup run.
It may be seen as an inconvenience in the early rounds, with teams fielding weakened sides and not wanting to be distracted from the Premier League.
But for us to get to the final by beating Premier League teams in each round, culminating in magical nights at The Emirates and Anfield, is a huge achievement and something we won’t forget in a hurry.
Of course we reached the FA Cup Final in 2003, but the match was staged at The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff as Wembley was being rebuilt.
And I don’t mean to gloss over the 1992 ZDS Cup Final or the 2010 Johnstone’s Paint Trophy win, both of which were great days out.
But Sunday represents a truly historical moment for our club to win a major honour under the famous arch.
The journey of Southampton Football Club from the bottom of League 1 to sixth place in the Premier League, in the space of just under seven years, has been the most incredible experience for us all.
But, even with two promotions and two European tours in recent years, we are still missing some silverware in our rather bare trophy cabinet.
For us fans, football is about winning things and the fact that an open top bus parade was staged last year to mark the 40th anniversary of winning the FA Cup was also a reminder of how long it has been since we held a trophy aloft.
We won’t get a much better opportunity than this to do just that.
Most fans I know would be happy to accept a lower league finish in order to win a cup.
A win on Sunday would put us back in Europe for another season and to do that three years in a row is fantastic for the club and fans, although not so good for my bank balance.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of our recent achievements, but no-one buys the DVD of the day we beat Palace to secure a top six spot in the league.
In comparison, the DVD of our big day in 1976 is slightly worn out around the time Bobby Stokes scored in the 83rd minute.
OK, it’s not the end of season showpiece FA Cup Final in glorious May sunshine.
The sea of colours may well be drowned out by coats and thermals at the end of February.
And Wembley as a stadium has now been slightly discredited with our opponents having already played there on three previous occasions in the last calendar year at the FA Cup semi final, final and Community Shield.
For a Saints fan, though, these occasions are few and far between.
I, for one, intend to savour every minute of what will, I’m sure, be a memorable day.
If you don’t, you might be waiting a very long time for it to happen again.
We’ve never won this cup. And winning it by beating one of the big boys in Manchester United is the way to do it.
The fixture already conjures glorious images of May Day 41 years ago for many of our fans.
It’s moments like these that memories are made of.
Lorelei Reddin is the Entertainments Editor at the Southern Daily Echo.
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