As a seven-year-old, I sat heartbroken at the 'old' Wembley having watched AFC Bournemouth get beat by a golden goal to Grimsby Town.
In 2002, I got a Junior Cherries season ticket for £30 in the North Stand to watch Sean O'Driscoll's barmy army finish fourth in the third Division (now League Two) as they went on to beat Lincoln 5-2 in the playoff final.
In 2008 we started 91st out of 92 teams in the top four league pyramid on minus 17 points. We survived.
The adventure we have been on since then is widely spoken about. The people involved in that journey are all heroes, from the bucket holding collectors, to the players, to the kit people, to the managers, to the fans, to the owners and beyond. Everyone is part of the puzzle.
That is what this club is about. I feel as a fanbase we have always stayed grounded but positively realistic because we have watched the potential week in, week out, as other football fans assumed we were only little old Bournemouth who will drop off eventually. But as I said, we knew the potential, we saw the vision and now we get to reap the rewards of European football.
(Image: Richard Crease)
Nothing is owed to you in this world, but this club deserves this. For persevering through the hard times with a belief for better times. Let that be a lesson and an inspiration to all of us in life.
There will be hard times ahead again I'm sure. So, let's enjoy this wonderful time we are in as Bournemouth fans.
P.S. the Europa league final is on May 27 2027. May 27 happens to be the date I won the World title at the stadium...
See you all in Frankfurt.