If you walk round the Olympic Stadium, which takes 10 minutes, you see a lot of this.
The management at West Ham United like to redecorate the stadium's exterior occasionally, and this year they've gone for a 1980 vibe. This is because West Ham won the FA Cup in 1980 and they're very keen to celebrate the anniversary.
That 1980 FA Cup Final was held precisely 40 years ago, on Saturday 10th May.
Statistical deviation: 10th May sounds quite early for a modern Cup Final, so I've done some digging and can confirm that dates have been slipping inexorably later in the year since the competition was founded. From 1872 to 1894 the Cup Final was always in March, or occasionally at the very start of April. From 1895 it shifted permanently into April, and after WW1 was usually held on the last weekend of the month. 1952 saw a nudge into the first week of May. From 1963 onwards the date has been a bit more unpredictable, but generally it was the start of May until 1978, then the middle and in the 21st century usually during the second half. 10th May was quite normal for 1980. This year's cancelled final was pencilled in for the 23rd.
I remember walking past these vinyls in March and thinking "if we're still under lockdown in mid-May, at least I can write about this." And here we are.
I also remember the 1980 Cup Final itself...
My Cup Final morning kicked off with the Banana Splits, which my diary reminds me featured both the Arabian Knights and the Four Musketeers. I didn't hang around to watch Champion The Wonder Horse because I had a grade 5 Theory class to go to, but I was back home again in time for several of Cup Final Grandstand's traditional features. It wasn't a proper Cup Final day unless you'd watched The Road To Wembley, Cup Final Mastermind and Tony Gubba reporting live from outside the team's hotel. In the days before Sky Sports made hours of idle build-up the norm, even something as mundane as Bob Wilson being allowed on the pitch for pre-match interviews offered genuine novelty value.
Small screen nostalgia: Other TV programmes I watched in May 1980 included Tales of the Unexpected, Training Dogs The Woodhouse Way, The Great Egg Race, Think Of A Number, Captain Pugwash, The Red Hand Gang, Ask the Family, Masterspy, Jigsaw, It's A Knockout, Wonder Woman, Citizen Smith and The Adventure Game.
Whoever decorated the exterior of the stadium has gone overboard with players' names, because players' names are an evocative reminder of a sporting golden era. Even I've heard of Brooking, Lampard and Bonds. Claret-blooded West Ham fans will likely go all tingly at the full list.
A cloak of football nostalgia goes down well at a stadium which doesn't have much of its own. West Ham haven't won anything since they moved from E13 to E20, and fans continue to bemoan the lack of proper atmosphere in an arena optimised for athletics. Perhaps more importantly, this emphasis on 1980 should also help the West Ham Store to flog some of their stocks of special 40th anniversary souvenirs. I fear there may be a lot of limited edition wristwatches, squad scarves and replica Admiral shirts left over at the end of this lockdown season.
Several of the vinyls on the outside of the stadium reference the final scoreline, which was One Nil To The Cockney Boys. The only goal came in the 13th minute and was scored by Trevor Brooking. By the end of Cup Final Grandstand, my diary records, that one goal had been repeated 14 times. In good news, extra time was not required so BBC1 was able to show a complete episode of the Pink Panther Show afterwards. In bad news, the team West Ham scored against was my team.
I'd like to apologise for blogging about a Cup Final in which Arsenal were the losing finalists. Unfortunately the only other stadium within lockdown walking distance is Brisbane Road, and Leyton Orient have never won the FA Cup (getting no further than the semi-finals in 1978). However I can at least crow that West Ham haven't won another domestic competition since, whereas Arsenal have won the FA Cup eight times, the League Cup once, topped the First Division twice and the Premier League three times.
The most unexpected thing about West Ham's 1980 Cup Final victory is that it's the last time a team outside the top flight lifted the trophy. If that 40-year-old giant-killing act excites you, Karren Brady would be delighted if you bought a commemorative enamel badge set to celebrate.
