While the last FA Cup final was a blockbuster between Premier League giants Manchester United and Chelsea, this year's affair shows the beauty of the world's oldest soccer competition on the flip-side.
When Championship club Cardiff City meet mid-table Premiership side Portsmouth at Wembley this weekend, it will be the meeting of minnows that captures the imagination of every fan in the UK, drawn each year by the promise it could be their team out there.
But it won't be a purely British affair either.
The match, which kicks off at 2.00am Sunday (NZ Time) will be attended by more than 80,000 and watched on television by an estimated 400 million more in 160 countries.
Long time coming
Not since West Ham in 1980 has a team from outside the top-flight won the FA Cup.
The 2007-08 campaign presented the best chance of a repeat, with three of the four semi-finalists - Cardiff, Barnsley and West Bromwich Albion - Championship sides.
A record 731 teams were accepted in 2007-08 to the 127th edition of the FA Cup, which started in 1871-72.
Up for grabs is 1.million pounds and a place in the first round of the UEFA Cup.
Cardiff City last featured in the final 81 years ago, when they became the only team ever to take the cup out of England after beating Arsenal 1-0 at the old Wembley.
Portsmouth were FA Cup winners 69 years ago, upsetting Wolves in 1939.
Pompey kept the trophy during the war years, but had not reached the final again before this year.
The significance of the occasion was not lost on Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp.
The 61-year-old with 35 years' experience in the sport, the last 25 of them in management, has declared that leading his side out on Saturday will be the highlight of his career.
"The league is important but we have to face facts and say the cup has to be the most important game," Redknapp told the BBC.
"It is such a great competition and it will be my proudest moment when I lead the team out at Wembley."
James worry
But injury clouds over No.1 goalkeeper David James and defender Sol Campbell could not have come at a worse time, especially with Pompey, who finished eighth in the Premiership, reeling from four consecutive league defeats.
Cardiff, 12th in the Championship, have had one win, one draw and two losses in their last four games.
Bluebirds manager Dave Jones will give 33-year-old Robbie Fowler every chance to prove his fitness, but the prolific goal-scorer only recently resumed training for the first time since December and may struggle after a persistent hip injury.
The importance of this chance is not lost on Cardiff's players or their fans, thousands of whom are expected to watch the action on a big screen erected by the local council in Cardiff Bay.
Support from down under
Among those going to Wembley will be about 50 members of Bluebirds Down Under, Cardiff City's supporters' group in Australia.
Founder Richard Jeffrey said the nearest Australian equivalent he could think of was the 1983 America's Cup victory.
"For us, it's not just about even a sporting event, it's a moment in time in our history, in our city's history," Jeffrey told AAP.
"The last time we had anything as big as this sporting wise was 1927, when we won the FA Cup, and the big thing for us was not just winning it but taking the cup out of England, which is huge for us because we love the idea of taking something off the English that's important to them.
"We all grew up hearing our grandfathers talking about 1927, what a wonderful achievement that was for us to go there and win, and we never believed it would happen in our lifetime."
The group have already played their own FA Cup final against Portsmouth supporters in Sydney, resulting in a 5-0 win to the Bluebirds.
But Jeffrey was not tempted to make any predictions on the real thing.
"It's going to be fabulous to be there, we didn't expect to do this," he said.
"Wembley is a great leveller, there's no reason at all why we can't win, but we're just going to go there and enjoy the day, enjoy the moment, enjoy the experience.
"But if we come away from there with a win, I think I may have trouble getting back on the plane to Sydney again for a while."
