I was about 12.
I remember being really excited, waking up really really early on the saturday morning, to get the coach with everyone else and seeing the anticipation on the fans faces. We got some amused looks from the passing motorists while we were waiting for the coaches to turn up. We all piled on to the coach and began decorating it with banners, scarves, posters, everything you can imagine. The journey down was spent painting faces and seeing how many other eagles fans we could spot on the way!
The excitement built as we got closer and closer to wembley, you could tell the older ones in our group were getting nervous. We arrived at wembley and the atmosphere was amazing, i remember being completely terrified by the number of people there.
We stopped to get some merchandise and got talking to some wigan fans who were loving the fact that they were going to win and seemed to find it amusing that the eagles fans had even bothered to turn up.
We arrived in to the stadium and found our seats and watched the stadium get fuller, i couldnt believe the number of wigan fans who had turned up, from arriving in the stadium, to the actual kick of seemed to take the longest time, i didnt really pay attention to the junior game on and then the band that were providing the pre match entertainment.
Finally the teams walked out and everyone stood to sing abide with me. I remember seeing a few people getting a bit emotional, although at the time i didnt really understand why. We sund the national anthem, we were all flyingour flags and scarves and then the game began. I dont remember a huge amount of the game to be honest it was all a bit of a blur, i remember the groans that went aroung when tubbs got concussed and we thought he was going to have to come off. The last few minutes of the game the atmosphere seemed to change as we all began to realise that actually, we may just be able to do this.
(its making me get goosebumps writing all this out!)
The final whistle went, and everything just went mental, no one could believe what had just happened! the cup was presented and i remember looking behind me and seeing fans with tears pouring down their faces. We stayed in the stadium for what felt like hours after the game celebrating and chanting applauding the players. The people who were sat in front of us had bought a programme and had forgotten it so we quickly picked it up and pocketed it!
Back on the coach, it was amazing, the journey home flew by, everyone was just saying what an incredible day it had been. Stoppeed at a service station on the way back and could not stop laughing at the wigan fans who just looked shellshocked!
Arrived back in sheffield late on to oddly enough see 2 wigan fans in shirts climbing out of a taxi in the city centre, cue more shouts and chants.
On the Sunday we all donned our shirts and went down to the players cafe to see the players arrive back with the cup. Again, it still felt hard to believe that we had beaten the mighty wigan!
Words cant really do it justice, it was just an incredible day. those of us who were there will cherish the memories forever.
I still cant listen to some songs i remember being played on the day without getting goosebumps thinking of 2nd May 1998.