There will no doubt have been a plethora of heavy bets put on the 1984 final, but no one will have taken a bigger gamble than life-long Watford fan, Adey Lee.
Adey took his heavily pregnant wife to the final, knowing full-well she could go into labour at any given moment.
He said: “I queued up all afternoon and night at the Vic to get a ticket to the final, catching some broken sleep in the allotments behind the Rookery.
“On getting to the ticket office I, on the spur of the moment, got two tickets – ‘That’s it, I’m taking my heavily pregnant wife.’ She reluctantly agreed, even though I was really stupid to ask her to go.”
And while no Watford fan would’ve had a particularly calm head at the time, Adey admitted he was particularly on edge.
He said: “My wife giving birth was on my mind constantly! I think I may have been more worried than she was. Luckily she was alright throughout the match – it was only when we got to Harrow and Wealdstone Station that she felt a little bit funny.”
Of course, there was little payoff for Adey and his wife’s risk.
But asked the pressing question, ‘Would you have taken a Watford win if it meant your wife going into labour during the game?’ the die-hard fan had a brief think and a chuckle before saying: “Yes… yes, I’d have taken the win.”
Adey’s son, Adam, was instead born on June 15.
35 years on and Watford are back in the final again – Adey couldn’t get tickets, but in a truly Déjà vu moment, he went to the thrilling semi-final with Adam and his heavily pregnant wife.
With Adam’s wife due to give birth just days before the big finale, it’s bound to be a mental time for the Lee family.
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