Pitchero Non League

It was simply fantastic, and it made me watch sports that I would never have done so before in a million years!

If, for example, there was a cycle race on one of the Sky channels, there`s no way I would have stayed on that channel for more than a few seconds. But boy, how exciting was that Velodrome!

It might be hard to imagine for those who know me, but I`ll admit to shedding many a tear throughout the Olympics – often blaming my nose blowing and tear-wiping on it being an exceptionally bad time for my hay fever if my missus caught sight of me at the time!

But the whole two weeks was inspiring and my real hope that the legacy of the Olympics is maintained throughout all sport in this country, including football, which seems to have taken something of a backseat.

However, last Saturday the start of the Blue Square Bet Premier crept upon us, as did the 2012/13 season`s FA Cup competition.

Remarkably, there are many clubs who are now getting uses to the fact that their run in the biggest cup competition in the game has already gone – and before the middle of August!

One club through - thankfully as far as cup sponsors Budweiser are concerned – are Wembley FC.

Am I alone in thinking that the whole charade of having an Extra Preliminary Round tie between two clubs such as Wembley and Langford on live television on a Saturday afternoon was somehow not quite right?

Was the FA Cup competition diminished a little by having Budweiser pay to roll out 40-plusses like Claudio Caniggia, Ray Parlour, Brian McBride, Graham Le Saux etc., and have Terry Venables looking suitably embarrassed on the bench watching a level of football he perhaps has never seen before?

Okay, so Wembley FC itself has done alright out of the deal. They have had their Vale Farm ground spruced up free of charge and publicity they could never have dreamed of previously.

It would certainly have been a very expensive experiment had lower division Langford left with the spoils!

Twenty-four hours earlier saw the Conference have its first televised game of the season come from Edgar Street as two returnees to the competition, Hereford United and Macclesfield Town, locked horns in what was a decent game.

The crowds the following day for the remaining opening fixtures were also decent, given the fact it was a lovely day and still a time when many people are on holiday.

Luton Town`s crowd of almost 7,000 for the game against Gateshead showed how they would have been missed had they managed to break their Promotion Play-Off hoodoo last May.

But I`m especially pleased to see the three teams promoted back in the highest echelons of non-League football.

To me Woking, Dartford and Nuneaton are three of the traditional names of non-League football – even though a couple of them are in slightly different guises these days – and it`s great to see them back.

They may struggle against what is now almost a fully-professional set-up, but the fans at Kingfield, Princes Park and Liberty Way will be in for some great entertainment.

So let`s all jump on the `feel-good factor` bandwagon and enjoy a great 2012/13 football season.