The pre-match feature had included so many of the two teams’ iconic FA Cup moments - Allan Clarke’s diving header to win the trophy for Leeds in 1972, back in the days when they beat almost everyone; Ronnie "Ticker" Boyce timing his run to head home West Ham’s late winner in the 1964 final; Billy Bonds lifting the trophy in 1975, clad in claret and sky blue, and in 1980, wearing white with club colours on the trim…

Oh yes, the job was already being done. And the efforts of Michail Antonio, Jarrod Bowen and Ryan Fredericks, energetic and sincere, made it clear how important West Ham regarded a competition that has been slurred and traduced so often since the advent of the Premier League.

The fact that West Ham were then coupled with National League North team Kidderminster Harriers, lowest-ranked survivors in the competition, prompted leaping thoughts of the fifth round. 

A win there and it will be on to the last eight and just three more wins required…

And then the dread memories arrive of Cup upsets delivered like kicks in the stomach down the years. By Mansfield Town. By Newport County. By Hereford United. By Wrexham. By Barnsley. By AFC Wimbledon… Might Kidderminster yet join that awful throng?

And so it starts again… But while those familiar hopes went round in an emotional tumble dryer, I realised it was something else on the day which had kindled my sense of this most venerable of sporting competitions.

Specifically, it was the sight of the numbered black balls, each signifying a team and underlined in cases of potential ambiguity such as six and nine that quickened my esteem and affection for the FA Cup. While the balls may not have been drawn out of a velvet bag, it was nevertheless the remaining ritual in this operation, jointly conducted by former England – and West Ham – goalkeeper David James and Arsenal and England women’s international Leah Williamson, that did the trick. This was the FA Cup. This was special.

It did no harm, either, that the occasional wide shot took in the FA Cup itself – that is, the fifth and latest version of the FA Cup, with generic sponsors’ ribbons attached.

Oh, that took me back…

May 16 1987 was an unforgettable day for thousands, perhaps millions, of football followers – the day when Coventry City upset Tottenham Hotspur to win the FA Cup final 3-2 after extra time. I was uniquely privileged on that Wembley occasion as I had licence to rove – before, during and after the match – for the writing of a "behind the scenes" piece for The Guardian.

Mid-morning I marvelled at the Wembley pitch while speaking to the head groundsman, Steve Tingley. The turf underfoot felt like a luxury pile carpet with rubber underlay.

Steve – who was, improbably, only 26 - told me the surface was cambered for drainage purposes and dropped 11 inches from the centre circle to the touchline on each side. Looking across it from ground level, only the tops of the advertising boards on the far side were visible.

I watched as two ITV cameramen were left marooned 180 feet above the stadium roof following a hydraulic failure – the Wembley chief executive, David Griffiths, suspended the rescue operation when closed-circuit cameras showed then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher arriving by car.

"I can’t have anybody up on the roof with Herself coming in," he commanded.

I monitored an amiable labrador amble around the Banqueting Hall tables, checking for explosives before luncheon commenced. I spoke to the Wembley Medical Service about their expectation of injured or drunken patients. "Slow going at the moment," said Sister Bethan Jones. "It may perk up," volunteer first aider Donald Bozoni added.

The massed bands of HM Royal Marines rendered Abide With Me - tubas, trumpets and trombones gleaming in spring sunshine.

And it turned out to be one of the great FA Cup finals. Clive Allen, a goalscorer in the classic selfish-obsessive mode, put the Londoners ahead after just two minutes. Dave Bennett equalised before defender Gary Mabbutt touched home a free-kick to put Spurs 2-1 up at half-time.

Midway through the second half Keith Houchen’s diving header – which would be chosen as BBC’s Goal of the Season – levelled the scores again, with Mabbutt’s agonising own goal in extra time sending the Cup to Cov for the first and so far only time.

But the bit I remember most vividly, the experience that was at the heart of this tumultuous day, was when I was bidden to enter the room below the Royal Box. There, security staff were taking it in turns to be photographed beside the FA Cup – version number four, replaced in 1992 - which glinted on the windowsill as those in pursuit of it strove mightily unto the end of extra-time.

Ribbons of three colours were already tied to it – white, light blue and dark blue. Finally, it was the dark blue colours that were removed before the trophy was taken upstairs for the Duchess of Kent to hand over to "Killer" – aka the formidable Coventry City defender and captain Brian Kilcline.

Something about that deft and private operation seemed magical to me. It was the element of ritual that was so fascinating. And if the FA Cup is to continue to re-assert itself successfully within the insane sporting calendar of nowadays, full football focus must be maintained on the traditions, large and small, that make it unique.