It is unclear whether Shaquille O'Neal has purchased his iFollow pass for Northampton's game with Exeter City yet.
As the Cobblers' most famous fan, the NBA legend will surely be tuning in from across the pond to potentially witness them seal promotion back to League One. After all, he won't get a ticket as the match at Sixfields is a sell-out. For those who aren't aware of the background to Northampton's most well-known supporter, it is worth putting into context. O’Neal, considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time, professed his unlikely support for Northampton back in 2016.
It came during their storm towards the League Two title under Chris Wilder. The link-up came about as a result of O'Neal co-owning a radio station in the States with long-time friend and Cobblers' chairman Kelvin Thomas.
In a video message sent to fans during the title run-in, O'Neal said: "First place is where I like to be and it’s great to see you guys at the top. I'm looking forward to coming to Sixfields at some point to see a match."
The 50-year-old would go on to send another video after promotion was clinched, draped in a club scarf and singing “We are the champions”.
Whilst the stunt gave Northampton some much-needed publicity it would mark the start of a yo-yo period for the club - one that looks set to continue if they win their final two league games this season. They are in pole position to claim the third and final automatic promotion spot from League Two, holding a one-point advantage over the chasing pack.
After elevation from this level in 2016 and 2020, their stay in the third tier was all-too brief. But under Australian-born coach Jon Brady, the hope is that promotion can be clinched and then followed up with consolidation. Brady joined the academy in 2016 initially coaching the under-16s before a promotion to take charge of the under-18s followed a year later.
He was asked to step up and take on first-team duties after Keith Curle was dismissed but he fell just short in his quest to keep the club up. Despite that relegation the board clearly saw something in Brady and he was appointed permanent manager the week after the drop was confirmed. Speaking earlier this season, Brady says getting promoted with Northampton would top all achievements so far in his playing and managerial career.
"It’s my hometown club and know a lot of people in Northampton," he said. "I played for Kettering and got promotion out of Conference North, got promotion out of the Southern League with Brackley and we had good FA Cup success. We won the Conference with Rushden, getting into the play-off final, nearly getting into League One so I’ve got promotions with all of those teams. So without spelling it out, that would be a longer term goal here at Northampton."
That goal will be achieved if his side beat already-promoted Exeter this Saturday and then Barrow on the final day.
Brady is understandably not getting carried away. "We want to finish as strong as we can," he added. "Our focus is being on the best we can be. We need to make our advantage count. The players have to thrive on this moment and embrace it."
O'Neal has yet to follow up on his promise to pay a visit to Sixfields, albeit Covid has played a big part in that.
And whilst the class of 2022 may not have received a shot-in-the-arm message from the sporting icon, his words from another video message from six years ago still ring true - "You guys know what you got to do."
