A lot has been made in recent years about the FA Cup not being what it used to be.
The magic seemed to have been lost somewhere along the way. FA Cup weekends used to be met with delight as upsets were plentiful and big teams put a massive emphasis on winning the trophy.
It’s become something of an afterthought in recent years which may be down to how well Sky market the Premier League.
But then this year happened, the FA Cup semi-finals were mouth-watering as Chelsea faced Spurs and Arsenal played Manchester City.
Throw this in with BBC’s stellar coverage and the appeal seemed to return.
The final was an end-to-end spectacle, with Arsenal upsetting the odds to win 2-1 and it was thrilling watching two footballing heavyweights slug it out for 90 minutes.
The public’s appetite grew and viewing figures seemed to prove this as Gary Lineker revealed.
Almost 10 million of you watched our FA Cup Final coverage on @BBCOne yesterday. Huge number on a hot sunny day. Long live the Cup.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) May 28, 2017
As Lineker points out, it was a scorcher in the UK on Saturday and the fact that the channel hit those viewing figures is quite impressive.
‘Long live the Cup’ indeed.
