It's about time someone thanked Wayne Rooney for restoring our faith in 6am starts and the early rounds of the FA Cup.
For anyone who bothered to watch Manchester United's fourth-round demolition of Middlesbrough yesterday morning, two strikes from the teenage boy-wonder were enough to make the rude awakening worthwhile.
Already boosted by a John O'Shea opener, Rooney scored his side's second goal in the 67th minute with an audacious lob from 30-plus metres, and left onlookers gaping when he blasted home a 20m first-time volley in the 82nd.
Just in case there was any doubt over the quality, the 19-year-old later described the goals as "two of the best" he'd ever scored in his career, and seasoned manager Sir Alex Ferguson - not known for dishing out gratuitous praise, called them "fantastic, and from a special talent".
The eventual 3-0 win was the start of a big week for followers of English soccer, who will no doubt be glued to their sets early on Wednesday to watch possibly the biggest grudge match of the season: United versus defending champions Arsenal at Highbury.
Chelsea might have the premiership all but won, but for sheer knife-edge, no holds-barred bloodsport, the upcoming Arsenal-United showdown has all the ingredients of the single-biggest game of the season.
The most recent escalation in tension traces its roots back to last season's campaign, when an unsuccessful Ruud van Nistelrooy penalty sparked an ugly melee, for which four Arsenal players were later fined and suspended.
The atmosphere was little better for the return match earlier this season, which was later dubbed the "The Battle of the Buffet" after soup and pizza were allegedly thrown at Ferguson.
An indication of the level of angst is that Football Association boss Geoff Thompson has attempted to broker a peace deal between the two clubs, and police chiefs (who are tomorrow night sending twice the usual number of officers to Highbury) have also called for a truce.
However, neither Ferguson nor Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has taken a step backwards over the past month, contributing to one of the most fascinating sideshows of the competition.
As sideshows go, the other one is Rooney; the boy who, as a 16-year-old, went straight from his high school team into the Everton premiership side, and became the competition's youngest-ever scorer five days before his 17th birthday.
Since transferring to United last year, Rooney has kept his name in the headlines for mostly the right reasons, particularly after scoring a hat-trick on debut during the Champions League tie against Fenerbahce.
A direct player with an almost telepathic sense of field-vision, he will doubtless find himself under extra scrutiny tomorrow night because of his temperament, which has already let him down on a couple of occasions.
For all that, if Fergie can find a way to channel Rooney's destructive tendencies more positively, it's hard to imagine just how good the prodigious talent will become.
For a couple of moments at Old Trafford yesterday morning, he looked as good as anyone.
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