When I think about the greatest goal I’ve ever seen, I think back to THAT Ryan Giggs moment against Arsenal.
You know the one. It was the 1999 FA Cup semi-final and Manchester United were up against their arch-rivals. The game was locked at 1-1 after David Beckham and Dennis Bergkamp exchanged blows, and United’s treble hopes hung by a thread after Roy Keane’s red card.
Then Patrick Vieira gave the ball away on the half-way line. Exactly nine seconds later the ball was in the back of Arsenal’s net, and the Villa Park crowd was aghast at what they’d just witnessed.
It wasn’t just the magnificence of seeing Giggs beat four defenders before smashing a left-footed shot past the helpless David Seaman. It was also the importance of the strike. And it still feels like it happened yesterday.
Plenty of other goals also spring to mind. What about Steven Gerrard’s last minute screamer over West Ham in 2006, or Trevor Sinclair’s spectacular bicycle kick against Barnsley in 1997?
All of those special moments, those incredible memories that football fans worldwide will always remember, happened in the FA Cup.
Action Images/Darren Walsh 
Ryan Giggs
That’s why I was very disappointed to hear some fans up and down the country suggesting that the FA Cup, a sporting institution, is nothing more than a “distraction” these days.
If Manchester United had viewed the FA Cup as a “distraction” 16 years ago, we would never have witnessed Giggs’ genius. We would never have witnessed Gerrard’s FA Cup final thunderbolt against West Ham.
You can also forget Paul Gascoigne’s 35-yard free-kick against Arsenal, non-league Stevenage toppling Newcastle United, Ben Watson firing Wigan Athletic to cup final glory over Manchester City.
Of course, Boro’s brief this season is to clinch promotion back to the Premier League. It has to be, and sitting second in the Championship , everything is now in place for Aitor Karanka to do exactly that.
It’s been a long six years out of the top flight, and Boro deserve their long-awaited return to football’s top table.
But is a trip to Man City, the free-spending superpower of English football, really nothing more than “a distraction”?
You tell that to the 5,500 Boro fans in the Etihad Stadium tomorrow if Kike fires in a 95th minute winner. You tell that to the thousands of fans back on Teesside glued to Twitter, desperately scrolling down for any updates.
And you tell that to Karanka when he is surrounded by jubilant Boro players, having walked triumphantly from the snarling jaws of the Premier League champions.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Boro’s task tomorrow couldn’t be harder.
Man City’s defeat at home to Arsenal probably couldn’t have come at a worse time for Boro. And the fact Manuel Pellegrini’s side face title rivals Chelsea next weekend means tomorrow’s match takes on extra significance.
It’s not mission impossible, but it’s certainly a very, very difficult task.
But calling it a “distraction” is wide of the mark.
Boro may be beaten tomorrow. They may even be put to the sword against some of the world’s best attackers. But with a full seven days to recover before the Brentford match it’s no extra burden.
If Boro beat Man City tomorrow then they would find themselves in the last 16 of the FA Cup. Two more victories and a trip to Wembley awaits in the semi-finals.
These days the Europa League is sometimes seen as a “distraction” for teams, with league form traditionally suffering under the ‘Thursday-Sunday’ commitment.
But imagine if Boro saw the same competition, formerly the UEFA Cup, as a “distraction”? Forget Basel, forget the trip to Rome, forget Massimo Maccarone and forget Eindhoven.
Real memories, footballing moments that matter, ones that stay with you forever - they are made when it is least expected.
It would be interesting to ask Wigan fans whether they would swap their 2013 FA Cup glory for Premier League safety.
The club and Dave Whelan, I’m sure, would opt for Premier League safety and financial security.
But the 60-year-old lifelong fan who dares to dream? I suspect 17th in the league isn’t more appealing than a glorious day in the sun.
Action Images / Ed Sykes 
It certainly doesn’t sound like Karanka will field a weakened team at Man City tomorrow. To be fair, I don’t think Boro could afford to against a wounded team of superstars looking to bounce back to winning ways and make a statement.
But if the unthinkable does happen tomorrow and Boro are victorious in Manchester, I’ll wait to hear anyone on Teesside still call the FA Cup a “distraction”.
Que sera, sera and all that. But what I do know is that Boro’s promotion prospects will not be affected by the events at the Etihad Stadium tomorrow afternoon.
So let the fans hope. Let Boro’s players dream. Let the glorious unpredictability of the FA Cup shine through once more.
You may say I’m a dreamer - but I’m not the only one.
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