DAY of destiny. The excitement and tension has become almost unbearable as support for the Saints in today's FA Cup final against Arsenal reaches fever pitch.

Hundreds of thousands of Saints supporters across the south - and around the world - are praying that their soccer heroes will lift the famous trophy at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

An estimated 300m people were expected to watch today's historic final at the Field of Dreams.

For many Saints supporters, today's clash will bring back memories of the club's last appearance in the FA Cup final at Wembley 27 years ago.

In that heatwave summer of 1976 the Saints beat Manchester United 1-0 - and now the south-coast club is desperate to taste victory again.

And just look how the Saints fans have got behind their team heroes in 2003! The team will be playing in yellow and blue - just as they did in the last Cup final.

Businesses in Southampton have already benefited from the city's feel-good factor, and if the trophy is brought home south, it will mean a £10m windfall to the area.

Pubs, clubs, bars, restaurants, takeaways and supermarkets are geared up for the biggest footballing occasion in three decades - and the cash tills will be ringing late into the night if Saints win.

Meanwhile, 25,000 Saints fans were making their way by road and rail to see the match at Cardiff.

Back at home, residential streets across South-ampton and neighbouring towns and villages were expected to be deserted as families and friends watch the Cup final at home on BBC1.

If Saints win, jubilant fans are due to head to the club's £32m stadium at St Mary's and the city centre as a focus for their celebrations.

Yesterday there were frantic scenes at WestQuay shopping centre and high streets across the city as people bought flags, ribbons and other memorabilia.

The Daily Echo has been flooded with calls from fans saying how they are displaying their devotion to manager Gordon Strachan's glory-bid team.

Some stories have been simply inspirational - like that of heart-op boy Jack Belge, who will escort the players on to the pitch.

The eight-year-old from Hythe, who has braved four open heart operations, was pictured on the front page yesterday with the stirring message to Saints skipper Chris Marsden's men: "Win it for me!"

Then there's the plain crazy - some people have painted their cars in the Saints colours, others have turned their homes into club shrines and a number of die-hard fans are travelling up to 12,000 miles for the cup final.

If the club does win, the victory parade tomorrow in the city will be something to behold, to cherish, to share with the children and to tell the grandchildren one day.

Yes, a day of destiny indeed.