Saturday's match at home to King's Lynn will be the 500th consecutive Cambridge United game that Will Jones has attended.
What does that mean in terms of time spent watching the U's without missing a single game? Well, it's 750 hours. 45,000 minutes. 2,700,000 seconds. 5.2 days spent at half time.
Will's sequence of 500 games began at Torquay United on August 8th 1998, the first match of a new season, and the U's duly obliged with a 1-0 win, as Will recalls: "Ten minutes or so from the end Trevor Benjamin was fouled about two yards outside the penalty area, but managed to fall just inside and the referee pointed to the spot. Martin Butler slotted it home and set us up nicely for a very good season."
Having seen so many players and managers pass through the doors at the Abbey in the last ten years, we asked Will to recount some of the individuals who stick in his memory.
Of the players, he says, "So many players deserve a mention over the last ten years - the way Paul Wanless led by example on the pitch was a joy to behold, you always knew you'd get 100% from him and the fans really appreciate that. He wasn't the most gifted player with or without the ball, but he was a grafter and played with his heart on his sleeve, even when his little girl was ill in hospital. They just don't make players like Wanny any more.
"Shaggy, of course, has a reputation we all know about - that season in 1998/9 when he rolled back the years, scoring the goals that took us up, beating the all time scoring record in the process, was breathtaking. A few eyes were raised when we signed him again - "Over the hill" said a few - but I think he was better in his second spell at the club; certainly more effective and playing the type of football he loved.
"So many other players I have special memories of - the brilliance of Dave Kitson, determination of Martin Butler, loyalty of Andy Duncan, creativity of Alex Russell. In terms of an overall favourite though, it's a close one! I'd have to say Lionel Perez. I just loved his passion, his eccentricity. He had everything I want in a player. He only knew one way to do something; with everything he'd got - I love that.
"There was a real understanding and respect between him and the fans, he knew what it meant to us - that year when we were relegated, it hurt. Every defeat hurt, we went the whole season without a win away from home. It may sound a bit strange, but to see Lionel slapping a defender round the face at Port Vale when we were getting stuffed 5-0, watching him pick the ball out of the net after we conceded a goal, charge to the centre spot, then wave his arms about to get people going, it just meant so much.
"When he came up in the final minute against Wigan at the Abbey, losing 1-0 in injury time, he won the header from the corner before Tom Cowan scrambled the ball home... that was something special, that memory. He gave us many.
"His last match for the U's was pretty remarkable, against Tranmere at the Abbey. In the final minute we got a penalty and Tom Youngs picked up the ball and placed it on the spot, but there were 5,000 United fans screaming - begging - that Lionel came up and took it. The roar that went up when he looked across to the bench, and Shaggy waved him up to take it.... well, talk about tingles, I'm getting them now!
"I still can't believe he missed it, that wasn't in the script. It's a shame he's not been back properly, since. I'd love to see him as guest of honour, deliver the match ball or something - he'd get a cracking reception, he's the type of character that blesses your football club once in a generation."
And of the managers who have come and gone in the last ten years, Will has one overall favourite: "Roy McFarland - a real gentleman, we were lucky to have him at United. We should have rolled out a red carpet every day he came in. He and the late David Preece were a great team. I enjoyed interviewing him for 'On The Spot' (old interview with the manager for the pre-official website) and we had some laughs.
"Above and beyond that though, he crafted a team which over about an 18-month period played some great football, gave us some great times, and indeed he's the last manager to achieve promotion. It was a sad day when he left - it's an old saying but you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."
How about the best goal Will has seen?
"That cracker from Tes Bramble seems to stick in the memory - what a belter! I seem to remember little Tommy Youngs scoring a cracker at Scunthorpe a few years ago which got stuck in the stanchion, that doesn't happen very often and was quite memorable!
"The best goal though, technically, was that one from Chilli when he took on the whole of the Brentford team from the halfway line, then found a cracking finish."
Will's favourite games are probably echoed by many fans who have supported the club through the same tumultuous era in the club's history, and we make no excuses for sharing them here.
"It's hard to know where to start!" he admits. "Winning promotion at Rochdale in 1999 was something special, and looking back at the pitch invasion and celebrations afterwards still sends a shiver down my spine. A really special night. Shaggy coming off the bench with 20 minutes left, scoring the goals to take us up... you couldn't have scripted it any better than that.
"Beating then Premier League Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough in the League Cup was another wonderful memory, as was the second leg at the Abbey when we held them 1-1 to knock them out. Coming back from 3-0 down at the City ground against Nottingham Forest to force extra time and penalties in the next round was just as special. I'm always proud to be a U's fan, but stuck my chest out that little bit further that night!
"In terms of other good memories, I enjoyed us knocking Crystal Palace out of the FA Cup at the Abbey, the stunning last-gasp winner from Marcus Richardson at Stoke, the remarkable late comeback at Brentford that same season to draw 2-2, the various league and cup wins at Northampton, and of course the LDV runs which included those magical Golden Goals at Luton and Northampton, not to mention the night we clinched a trip to Cardiff by beating Bristol City 2-0 at Ashton Gate. I was in the press box for that match and almost got thrown out for over-celebrating!
"The support and passion displayed at our final away game in the football league, at Rushden, was one of the most emotionally charged experiences I've had following the U's," adds Will. "We'd just been relegated from the Football League and entered administration, yet over 2,000 made the trip and were singing for 90 minutes, pride and passion like I've never seen before.
"That was a statement of intent from the fans of this club; to stick by the U's in the non-league, to stick by their team no matter what. They've been true to their word and stuck by their club, like true football fans should. Not many sides could have been through half of what we have and still get the types of crowds we do. The fans of this club are not just something special for this league, they're something special full stop."
But there have been bad times too, of course, and to continue the Rushden theme, Will admits the 3-1 defeat there last season was an all-time low for him: "I left the ground in tears, couldn't see how that side would get the points needed to stay up. A few months later, there we are at Aldershot, 1,000 of us celebrating Robbie Simpsons goal just as much as we did Dion's equaliser at Highbury all those years earlier.
"Football is like that - you're never quite sure when it'll kick you in the teeth or give you the biggest buzz of your life... especially when the U's are concerned!
"That Aldershot match just proved to me how relative football is, whatever division we're in, supporting United will always feel the same, the important goals will always feel special. That's what you can't explain to the Manchester United and Chelsea fans of the world. Football's spine isn't found in trophy cabinets or watching from sofas, it's found on the terraces of places like Cambridge, York, Exeter and all around the country. Places where fans have supported and stuck by the club they love through thick and thin.
"We'll enjoy success again. When we do it'll feel ten times as special to us as winning the Premier League will for 99% of Manchester United fans."
Rousing words, but why did Will first become a Cambridge United fan?
"My Dad took me along to the Abbey Stadium to watch an FA Cup 5th round replay against Bristol City in 1990," he recalls. "I was about 11 and I remember walking in the stadium, with the floodlights blazing down, the stands packed full and an electric atmosphere, and it just took my breath away. It still does today. It was all so exciting, so new to me. I still get goose bumps when I see those floodlights. I know it's just metal and some bulbs, but they're so beautiful, aren't they!?
"We won the match 5-1 and it was like somebody had flicked a switch in my brain - I'd fallen in love! This is why I'm so passionate about getting new kids and families along to the Abbey Stadium now - I know how easy it is to fall head over heels for this wonderful club of ours, and the more we get along, the more will catch that bug and be hooked for life."
Will has carried that enthusiasm into his involvement with recent initiatives to help with attracting new supporters to the club, and he was heavily involved in the South Stand Initiative, the Junior U's and the Magnificent 7 DVD last season.
"I help out the club in any way I can," he confirms. "I'm passionate about CFU and volunteers getting involved and helping out the club on many different levels - from helping to man turnstiles, right up to the CEO of the company. Everything we do should be driven by a passion to make this club all it can be, to achieve what we're capable of. We all need to work together towards that aim, full time, part time, paid and unpaid staff. All working towards the same vision, on the same principles with the same goals for the company.
"As well as providing a great product for the fans of the club, the Magnificent 7 DVD raised £5,000 for CFU which we used over the summer to sponsor CRC this season, investing in the players of the future. I took enormous pride in the knowledge the money raised by the DVD was able to be used in such a positive way - not just poured into a bottomless bucket.
"The Junior U's and the SSI are two schemes I feel passionately should play a big role in the future of Cambridge United. This club is special and we need to introduce as many people as we can to it. I want to see the Junior U's have peak membership of 5,000 by 2010; every single one of those kids getting entrance to all league matches for £2 until they're 16, a signed birthday card from the players every year, regular newsletter, discounts from away travel and club shop as well as different events during the year.
"This is about winning the hearts and minds of our local community, young and old, rich and poor. If we are to consider ourselves a Community Football Club then we must walk the walk, which schemes like this are doing. We've attracted over 1,000 members of the Junior U's in less than a year, while 240,000 local people were invited to come and watch a match free of charge last season on the SSI - that's what this is all about.
"I'm very proud of my involvement with these schemes and I'm passionate about the role CFU can play in the tapestry of the club going forward. We've shown what can be achieved by the club welcoming our involvement and working with us. I hope this continues going forward and we can work even closer together, to achieve even more and help the club realise it's potential."
Will has gone to great lengths to get to some of his previous 499 games, including discharging himself from hospital a day early after reconstructive knee surgery, to the dismay of his surgeon, but he smiles, "I ended up on antibiotics after getting an infection, but Big Dave (Kitson) made it 2-2 a minute before the end though, so it was worth it!"
And as for his chances of extending this run to 1,000 games, Will is making no guarantees but he says, "If somebody had told me 10 years ago when I arrived at Torquay that I'd watch the next 500 in a row, we'd win promotion, almost make another FA Cup quarter final, beat a Premier League side at their own ground, play in our first ever National Final at the Millennium Stadium, re-appoint John Beck, get relegated twice and out of the league, almost get relegated to the Conference South, get beaten 5-0 by Histon and be in the same division as them now.... well, I think I might have struggled to believe it.
"It's a rollercoaster ride as a United fan that's for sure; let's hope this season is the start of another climb up the leagues.
"I'm bound to miss a match sooner or later," he concludes. "I only just made the match at Kidderminster last week because of awful traffic on the way there, but as long as there is air in my lungs and blood in my veins, Ill spend every waking moment of my life helping, loving and supporting this club!"
Do you have a tale to tell about your years supporting the U's? Drop us a line on web@cambridge-united.co.uk
Make Your Click Count For The U's - talk about it on the Message Board!
You are respectfully reminded that any article, as with all content on this website, unless otherwise stated, is subject to copyright © and the Official Cambridge United Website must be acknowledged as the original source including all quotes.
AT071213
