Croydon to Newcastle, 10 games, more than 1,400 miles – meet the friends who have been to every round of the FA Cup this season.
So when Jack Dormer and Alex Rowe texted BBC Sport about their journey, there was only one question on everybody’s minds: will they make the final?
The friends from London were at the goalless fourth-round draw between Newcastle United and Oxford United at St James’ Park on Saturday – their 10th match of the competition so far.
“Not bad but a bit dull,” Tottenham fan Jack, 25, told BBC Sport when asked how the game was.
The pair started their journey on 10 August at Mayfield Stadium, home of Croydon Athletic – who play in the Southern Counties East League Premier Division – where they watched a 1-0 victory over Virginia Water in the extra preliminary round of the FA Cup.
“It was completely random at the start. We picked Virginia Water out of a hat. The rule is, whoever wins that game, we go to the next one. They lost to Croydon so we went to their game next and so on,” said Jack.
“We have almost no say in it,” added Liverpool fan Alex, 24.
But what made them want to go to every game? “The magic of the cup is not dead,” Alex said in one of his texts on the BBC live feed.
“It was something my dad [Jeff Dormer] did as a kid. We fantasised about doing it and it was a good opportunity to make a podcast as well,” added Jack. “Luckily, Alex agreed to do it with me so we just went ahead.”
