Manchester United Haters, Rejoice

It had been an exceedingly boring FA Cup, with all the favorites going through. That is, until about an hour ago. Mighty Man U fell to a League One side, and not just any side: Leeds, their historic rivals.

I can hear the excuses starting up already. The Red Devils have been beset by injury, and may as well have started a backline of you, me, and Sir Alex's sainted mother. Doesn't matter. They still lost to a League One side, which is the third highest level of English soccer. That's like losing to a double-A baseball team.

For all of Leeds's storied history, this doesn't change the fact that they're currently fighting for promotion to the Championship, and that they barely edged Kettering Town in the second round; a team that's not even in the league system. (Keeping with baseball comparisons, that's like tying your local high school team.)

So after Jermaine Beckford, who's heading for greener pastures with Newcastle, slotted home Jonny Howson's seeing-eye pass 19 minutes in, and after Wayne Rooney did everything besides actually score, and after five minutes(!) of injury time, it was the earliest FA Cup exit ever for Man U under Fergie, and the first time Leeds won at Old Trafford since 1981.

That entire paragraph was a run-on sentence, but gosh darn it, it's exciting when the FA Cup finally gives us the historic upset we've been waiting for. And when it's Manchester United on the short end? Happy New Year to us!

Man Utd 0-1 Leeds Utd [BBC]