“Not in the wider interests of football.”

We all know the words. Some of us read them immediately after the FA’s decision in 2002, tired and haggard from holding vigil to protest the move in the first place only to be told that the thing we cared about didn't matter.

Some of us read the words years later after AFC Wimbledon's resurrection and return to the Football League, our knowledge of the future letting us snigger at suits whose names we could hardly remember.

The words matter.

The FA was wrong, of course. Of course. We proved them wrong.

We put our labour and our time and our love into rebuilding a thing that was taken from us because we knew that it mattered, and we proved them wrong.

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But the words matter. They matter because they remind us how far we’ve had to walk, how high we’ve had to climb, how long we've had to wait.

The words matter because they remind us where we had to start. Raucous community meetings. Trials on Wimbledon Common. Sitting on bales of hay in the away end down in the Combined Counties.

The words matter because of everything that happened along the way. Five promotions in nine years. Seb and Danny at the Etihad. Jack’s penalty against Fleetwood. The first encounters with the franchise. The Beast’s goal against Liverpool.

The words matter because we're 90 minutes and a fair wind from playing third tier football and it’s been a very long road back.

Wherever you are on Monday, take a moment before kick-off to remember how long and how much it took to get here.

Remember everyone, from players to volunteers, who helped clear the way to get here and who will continue to walk the way regardless of what happens.

Remember the words.