Crystal Palace vs Watford: lifelong Palace fan Jason Puncheon living FA Cup Wembley dream
Winger was three years old the last time Palace reached their first and only ever FA Cup final in 1990
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Your support makes all the difference.Jason Puncheon has already proved he needs no reminding of the significance of today's FA Cup semi-final for Crystal Palace.
Puncheon joined his fellow fans in the away end during their fifth round win at Tottenham in February.
But the Croydon-born winger is no stranger to mixing the locals. Puncheon knows nothing else as far as Crystal Palace is concerned.
Puncheon, a boyhood supporter who grew up a barely a stone's throw away from Selhurst Park, was on Palace's books as a kid before later becoming a ball boy.
His connection doesn't end there as his mum also worked at the ground, long before he fulfilled his dream of pulling on his beloved Palace shirt.
"It's the first time I have been in the stands as a supporter since I sat in the Holmesdale Road end as a kid," said Puncheon.
"It was a good experience, I enjoyed it and it was a great away day out.
"Everyone was friendly and it was nice to have people like that round me. A lot of those people in the stand knew somebody I knew. It was nice.
"It's refreshing because you don't get many players who play for the club they supported.
"I feel proud to wear the Crystal Palace shirt and have that badge on my chest as well.
"I'm not saying the other players don't feel the same way, but this is my area. This is where I grew up and I know everybody around here.
"My mum worked at the club and we used to live nearby on Clifton Road.
"Every other Saturday we used to put the cones outside our house so nobody could park there.
"I used to go with my mum shopping at Sainsbury's but it used to be closed on matchdays so we went on Fridays or Sundays instead. I have grown up with that.
"To walk to a local shop there is always somebody you know. So you feel their pressure.
"You want the team to do well. This is home for me."
Puncheon was just three years old the last time Palace reached their first and only ever FA Cup final in 1990.
His hazy recollection is that of watching Ian Wright, his favourite player, but back then it was his boss Alan Pardew who emerged as the unlikely hero, after his extra-time winner shocked Liverpool in the seven-goal thriller.
Now Puncheon, 29, hopes to create of his own set of memories against Watford today.
"My mum has always dreamed of seeing me play at Wembley," he said. So it's a big day for her as well as the club.
"I've got 35 tickets. We have a big family with cousins. There will be a lot of them there.
"It's a big occasion. I've never played at Wembley before. Obviously I'm older now so you do cherish these moments.
"I'm 30 in the summer and you don't know when these chances will come around again.
"In football some people go through their whole career not winning anything. So it's a massive opportunity for us.
"It really is a once in a lifetime chance and you have to grasp it."
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