W HAT a week it's been. Even diehard Vale-ites like Martin Tideswell have been congratulating the red and white half of the city, albeit often through gritted teeth.
Not all have been as gracious as Martin.
A close friend of mine, a Vale supporter, got a subscription to ESPN purely to watch Stoke being thrashed on live television.
He's not responding to my calls and texts – I wonder why?
As one of the horde who made it to Wembley, I'm still a little bedazzled by the result and most of all, by the fantastic display of football. City proved what their fans already knew: that they're more than just dead-ball specialists.
And if Stoke City go one further and beat Manchester City in the final, Stoke-on-Trent, with the exception of a few pockets of resistance, will explode.
An FA Cup final win would have implications far beyond football.
Three years ago, promotion to the Premier League not only brought considerable economic benefits and a world-wide profile. Stoke was buzzing. As someone who only moved here two decades ago, I saw (for the first time) the city wearing a sense of pride and achievement.
All the negative images – Experian calling us the worst place to live in Britain, the decline of our traditional industries, the rise of the BNP – faded into the background.
Multiply that feeling by a factor of 10 and imagine that magical cup being paraded through the city's streets by men whose names would never be forgotten.
The promise and subsequent failure of regeneration would, at least for a moment, be forgotten in the euphoria of sporting success. There's already a sense that little else matters other than the forthcoming Wembley final appearance. And that's a danger.
There are very important local elections coming up.
Yet some people have told me they are so fed up with the council that they intend not to vote.
All that would do is reinforce the nation's perception of an apathetic and disconnected community. We need to smash the idea that Stokies don't care about local decision-making, and that means a decent turnout for elections to the newly constructed Stoke city council.
The local Labour party are confidently anticipating that a low turnout combined with a desire to punish the national coalition partners will ensure a comfortable victory for their candidates.
In my opinion, they don't deserve a comfortable return to power. The party, both locally and nationally, has to take most of the blame for our economic predicament.
Have you been personally affected by the decisions taken recently about service cuts? Did the closure of pools and facilities affect your friends and relatives? Is your community worse off? Are the vulnerable in your neighbourhood suffering?
If you feel Labour has let you down locally, send them a message. Vote Conservative or Liberal Democrat. If you can't bring yourself to vote for one of the local coalition partners, look at other party groups or at independent candidates.
If, on the other hand, you feel Labour deserve support for making tough decisions – or even if all you want to do is send a message to Clegg and Cameron – then get out and vote for them.
And don't forget that this election also includes a ballot on changing our voting system. A 'yes' vote will mean the Alternative Vote system being adopted and the probability of more national coalition governments in future.
That can be seen as either good or bad, but don't complain in future if you couldn't be bothered to get off your backside now.
These elections are crucial. If you care at all about the future of your community and the future nature of national government, you need to vote on May 5.
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