By Patrick Snell, CNN
(CNN) — There’s a reason people so often talk about the magic and romance of the Cup, and given recent events, it’s all still very much alive and well.
Dating all the way back to the early 1870s, England’s iconic FA Cup is the oldest national soccer competition in the world.
Traditionally, it pits non-league and lower league teams with the sport’s elite. It’s a chance for potential giant-killers to take down the biggest names from the Premier League, and on January the 10th, we saw just that with sixth-tier Macclesfield shocking FA Cup holder Crystal Palace 2-1 in a result that – as far as league positions are concerned – is now regarded as the biggest upset in tournament history.
Macclesfield, whose team is made up of part-time players, went into that match at tiny Moss Rose – a stadium with a capacity of 5,300 with 2,095 of those seated – 117 places below the Eagles in the English soccer league pyramid, but you simply would simply never have guessed.
“It’s the stuff that’s sort of your wildest dreams, it’s not supposed to happen to people like us, but it did,” Macclesfield defender Sam Heathcote told CNN Sports as he reflected on the result that sent shockwaves across the soccer world and beyond.
When he’s not keeping Premier League defenders at bay, Sam is a PE teacher at a school in Altrincham, just a few miles away from Manchester and his return to work that following Monday is one that he’ll never forget.
“You know, it was a bit surreal, back down to planet Earth straight away, I had some of the younger kids coming out with funny comments like they had the dog waving at me on TV, so there was no time to stay on a high horse or anything like that. It was straight back down to planet Earth for me,” Heathcote said.
“I got all embarrassed and shy and I don’t know why because I spend most of my week with the kids, but, yeah, I didn’t expect it, and it was so nice and it’s something that will definitely live long in my memory,” he added.
Another big challenge
Macclesfield’s next challenge in the FA Cup is a fourth-round clash with yet another Premier League team, Brentford, in a match that will see the Silkmen once again as overwhelming underdogs when they take to the field of play on Monday evening.
“We’ll obviously go into the game with a lot more confidence than we did against Palace. They might be a couple of places above Palace, but we’ve broken the record before, so why can’t we do it again?” club captain and former highway supervisor Paul Dawson told CNN Sports.
Dawson – who now works for a candle-making company – scored the first goal of the match in his club’s history-making win over the Eagles and it’s no surprise he’s still pinching himself in disbelief!
“I’m not going to lie, I can’t really remember it. I’ve watched the highlights about 120 times or something! I don’t remember my celebration, I don’t remember any of it, but yeah, it was a very surreal moment! Honestly, I think I’m still living the dream … I don’t think I’ve come back down to Earth.”
Remembering one of their own
Despite riding the crest of a truly euphoric wave following the historic win over Palace, it’s with collectively heavy hearts that Macclesfield’s players go into their fourth-round tie following the de