Having searched the internet I have been unable to find out what F.A. stands for. I imagine it's just one of those things like BYOB where nobody actually knows what it means, it's just been on the bottom of faxes for so long you don't question it.
I can only guess that the "F" stands for "Foot" (The first half of the word Footballs). The "A" almost certainly stands for "All" (The second half of football) The "Cup" part of the word is NOT an abbreviation, it actually refers to a cup.
It's considered a great honour to hold this "Cup" aloft with your hands. Ironically using your hands during a game is a sackable offense. Only the referee or the keeper may do so and so it is doubly ironic that neither such players are permitted to lift the "Cup" aloft. Once the "Cup" is held above the head the crowd all shout words at it. Half the crowd do happy words, half the crowd do dirty words. Those dirty words often echo of the walls of the trophy cabinet for years to come and I mean that both literally and non-metaphorically.
The cup which is made of tin, has been dubbed the biscuit barrel ever since Dougie Fashanu hid his glasses in there as a disgusting joke on his poor blind sons.
So who will win the cup on Wednesday. Lets just hope it's not the team with the dirty-word-shouters. I for one will be enjoying a cup myself on cup night, a cup full of goals in a cup.
BYOB
