When the time comes to look back, what will 2003 be remembered for? Historians will no doubt mull over events in the Gulf while sports writers might ponder Australia retaining the Cricket World Cup or the majestic Best Mate retaining the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
But for the good people of Banff and Macduff, there will only ever be one thing that 2003 is remembered for, and quite rightly so. It was the year that Deveronvale won the Highland League for the first time.
Those of us lucky enough to have been at Kynoch Park on Saturday will never forget that truly magical moment when the final whistle blew and the emotions transformed themselves into a majestic roar as the 65 year old dream was realised at last.
The younger supporters in the wonderful Valley Crew - a support unrivalled in the Highland League and in most of the Scottish lower divisions to be honest - might have been forgiven for thinking what the big fuss was about, and understandably so. If you had just 'discovered' Deveronvale in the past few years, success is something you would have become more than used to and long may that continue.
But while Cup glory and the regular forays into the Scottish Cup arena are to be cherished, the ultimate prize is of course the League title and, for those of us with slightly longer memories, its eventual arrival on Saturday was made that little bit extra special because of all that has gone before.
The whole set-up at Deveronvale Football Club is now one that is praised and admired across the country, a point alluded to by Gregg Carroll in that wonderful if slightly bizarre moment on Saturday night when the manager crouched (well you can't stand straight up unless you're Molby's height, can you?) on the pool table in the Railway Inn to thank everyone involved.
It is indeed a far cry from the wooden hut board room and draughty changing rooms at one end of PRP and the old rickety stand on the halfway line that offered little shelter from the elements but a wide and interesting variety of splinters in your rear end. Ironic to think that it stood for nearly six decades but took less than six minutes to demolish!
I well remember travelling through from Aberdeen every week in the mid 1980s to attend committee meetings, huddling round the gas heater in a fruitless attempt to keep warm as we discussed the upcoming gala, the raffle, how many pints of milk we could get away with for Saturday's home game, and anything else that would help pay the players' wages and keep the club going.
It looked dodgy for a while but the club stayed afloat and I, along with the rest of the lads who did the same thing, are proud that, as mere supporters, we played a small part in helping that happen.
Although it was pretty hard going with, more often than not success viewed as not finishing in the bottom three, there were countless good times and priceless memories that will stay with the fans who travelled with the team in those days for ever.
Some of these have been eloquently listed already on the Forum - thank you Trude, Stewarty, Allan Whyte et al - but one of my personal favourites came when, on the back of winning our first four or five games to top the League sometime in the 1980s, we travelled to play Inverness Caley (before they had a Thistle grafted on) at Telford Street.
All the noises from Inverness during the week were that we hadn't played anyone 'of note' that season and that Caley would soon put us in our place but, heaven forbid, were we not 2-0 at half-time! The second half went past in a very slow haze but despite losing a goal in something like the 50th minute we held on to win.
It was like we had won the League and I remember manager Kenny Rodger saying in the P&J on the Monday that he had never heard fans singing like that before at a Highland League ground.
Praise indeed, but my memory of the end of the game is everyone running onto the park apart from the late Bill Clark who couldn't get his old hip over the advertising hoarding and ended up hopping up and down with one hand on the rail looking like Gordon Strachan after he'd scored that goal against Germany in the World Cup!
Fantastic stuff, and although we started to slip down the league the following week and probably Caley did go on to win it after all, the memory of that day will live forever, just as the memory of all the great Vale fans, like Bill, who were not around long enough to witness this, will too. As Stewarty correctly pointed out on the Forum, we raised a glass to them on Saturday night too knowing they were looking down on us, every bit as proud as we were.
Throughout the years Deveronvale have had good players, some great ones in fact and in Jim Leighton and Des Bremner, players who have gone on from Princess Royal Park to represent Scotland.
We have also had our fair share of characters, all of whom have contributed something to the rich history of our wonderful club. There are far too many to mention all but those that stick in my mind are guys like Johnnie Mackie, Norrie McBain, Kevin Bremner, Ray O'Hara, James Pirie, Donald Buchanan, Big Forbees, Joe McCallan, Henry Gracie (remember him?), Ian Thain, Bradley Kerr, Eddie Wolecki…..the list could go on and on and I'm sure everyone reading this could add at least ten of their own.
But it is doubtful whether there has ever been as good a team assembled in Banff as the wonderful group of lads there now under the watchful eye of Gregg and his backroom staff.
We have skill in abundance, the ability to score from anywhere on the park, grit, determination, quieter players, players with character and guile, a resolute defence and a vibrant and blistering attack, all in all, an irresistible package which has made us the envy of the league and the reason we are Champions having beaten every other team at least once.
One problem Deveronvale used to have was one of continuity in terms of the manager and players but it no coincidence that, as Gregg has stuck around and resisted the understandable 'paper talk' about him going elsewhere, the team has developed alongside him as he has grown as a manager.
Of course we have lost players, every team will and we are no different, but the nucleus of the team has remained and, in addition to shrewd moves in the transfer market, has seen Deveronvale go from strength to strength rather than weaken. Of course, full credit must be given to the Committee and the Directors for having the business acumen and the financial nous to make that happen and to Gregg for using the money extremely wisely.
It is a measure of how far the Vale have come in recent years that all the players on the park on Saturday had won something with the club already but it was particularly gratifying to see great club servants like Steve Dolan and Nigel Montgomery on the field alongside the newer recruits at the end when the final whistle blew. It is this mixture of old and young, experience and youth, that has helped make the Vale such a formidable outfit.
There is one other thing that has helped of course, us, the Valley Crew. It was good that Gregg recognised our part in all of this in his impromptu table-top speech on Saturday night too.
Clubs like Keith and Cove Rangers, who were our only realistic challengers in the end but who could only attract a crowd of 150 to their last match together, can only look on and wonder what it must be like to have backing like that. As well as being large and vociferous, the Valley Crew are witty, knowledgeable, fun, and the Vale's 12th man and, as I said earlier, the envy of the entire league.
Anyone who doubts that should have popped their head round the door of the Castle Bar on Saturday night, and believe me with the number of people crammed in, that was about as far as you would have got! Those who thought the celebrations there were impressive when we won the Qualifying Cup last year, had seen nothing on Saturday's effort.
The singing was immense from players and fans alike and the spirit of togetherness another thing that makes Deveronvale FC so special. Goodness knows what state the place was in on Sunday morning - similar to most thumping heads I would assume - but it was worth every penny just to say you were there.
The fans sang 'We Are The Champions' with due apology to the late Freddie Mercury while the players sang, 'We've Got The Best Fans in the World.' As the much maligned Darius from PopStars was prone to say on occasion - there was a lot of love in that room!
Tommy applied for a late license although a different type of entertainment license might have been in order for Molby's exploits on the pool table, which showed his naked ambition was not reserved solely for the playing field!!
However the little striker was more than justified in his celebrations. He said in the week leading up to the game he would score his 40th goal of the season and lift the title for the Vale and he did just that, his masterful turn and shot into the bottom corner in the 68th minute one of the greatest footballing moments most of us have ever experienced.
Although the euphoria has died down a little, there is still a lot left to play for. We need two more points from the games against Huntly to beat Fraserburgh's points tally of last year and there is also the League Cup - what icing on the cake that would be for 2003.
Finally, of course, there is the presentation of the League trophy itself. The outcome of the League Cup will determine exactly when that will be but here's hoping when it does happen that the weather is kind and that everyone turns out to honour the achievement of Gregg and the boys, whether they are football fans or not.
What those lads at Princess Royal Park have done for Banff, Macduff and the surrounding area is truly fantastic, so go along, join the Valley Crew, and give them a clap and a cheer. Believe me, they deserve it.
