The day Rotherham United boss Alex Bruce played in the FA Cup Final
"It was the best experience of my life."
Alex Bruce has an affinity for the FA Cup.
And so he should, seeing as he once came within 20 minutes of lifting it!
It was back in 2014 when the Rotherham United boss was a Premier League player and he reached the final with Hull City.
The Tigers were 2-1 ahead against Arsenal at Wembley in the 71st minute, only to concede an equaliser and then suffer heartache in extra time as they went down to a 3-2 defeat.
It's a far cry to this Saturday when the head coach will be involved in one of the least-glamorous ties of the first round when the Millers, at the lower end of League Two, travel to Bromley who are having an even worse time in the division above.
In fact, the impending clash at the Copperjax Community Stadium is so low-key that maybe we concentrate on that May 17 day at the national stadium 12 years ago.
"It was the best experience of my life," said Bruce. "I look back and I do have regrets about it because we were 2-0 up in a cup final and lost.
"I wasn't a great player. I didn't have the luxury of playing in FA Cup finals and Champions League finals every other year, like a lot of the top lads do. I knew it was a one-off occasion that I had to try and enjoy and embrace. It's an occasion you dream of as a child and you work hard for it all through your career.”
The defender didn't let himself down. "I had a good game," he smiled. "I'd give myself 8 out of 10! It was one of my better performances."
Hull took an early 2-0 lead with early goals from James Chester and Curtis Davies to lead 2-0 against a Gunners side containing Mikel Arteta, Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud.
Santi Corzola pulled one back before the break, Laurent Koscielny levelled in the second half and Ramsay bagged a 108th-minute winner.
Bromley climbed out of the National League and immediately went up to League One before the tide turned this season, resulting in the dismissal of the manager who engineered so much success, Andy Woodman.
"I actually know the owner quite well," said Bruce. "I met him on holiday in Dubai watching cricket with my dad a good few years ago. He's a good guy and the club have done fantastically well."
That would be Robin Stanton-Gleaves who has been chairman since 2019.
These days, the FA Cup might not carry the romance of old, but the Millers boss would love his team to make it into the next round and beyond. "It's still a great competition," he said.
Anyway, back to 2014 once more …
Bruce suffered an injury in the 67th minute and limped away from the hallowed turf.
"I tore my groin when I stepped over somebody in the 18-yard box," he recalled. "I was desperately hoping we'd hold on because we were 2-1 up at the time.
"I do tell people I was a winner when I came off. It was the rest of the lads who ballsed it up!"