SOCCER - It's Hull of a feat, says elated Frank

Hull City FC's greatest triumph may have passed by largely unnoticed in rugby-centric New Zealand but, in one tiny corner of Kamo, it was cheered loudly by Frank Coupland.
He was born just outside Hull and can clearly recall his first trip to watch the Hull City Tigers play Preston North End when the 91-year-old was just a lad of 12 and completely overawed by 22,000 screaming fans.
He quickly became a diehard fan and last weekend, the Tigers made history by reaching the top flight of English Football for the first time, something Frank never thought he would live to see.
"I can't believe it, I've been supporting them all my life and they were always struggling," he said.
The best the team has managed was a third in division two in 1910 but they have languished in the depths of the third and fourth division for the majority of the almost 80 years he has been a fan.
"I said to people at one time, they're the strongest team in the league and they said how do you work that out, and I said they're on the bloody bottom, holding everybody else up," he laughs.
The final of the Football Association Championship last Sunday saw the Tigers beat Bristol City 1-0 to seal the final premiership promotion spot in front of 86,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium - the club's most memorable moment in 104 years of history.
Frank had to follow the progress of the match by Teletext updates. But he will get to see the match - his Wellington-based grandson recorded the game for him and Frank is expecting the tape any day.
The team now enter a new era. They are set to reap more than $80 million in revenue from TV rights, sponsorship and increased ticket sales as a reward for entering the premier league.
Frank is looking forward to when the season starts in August and the team's premiership debut but he most anticipates their first match with Liverpool.
"My grandson is a Liverpool supporter and he had been forever laughing at me but now I think he's dreading when Hull will play Liverpool in case they win. I think he'd rather shoot himself," he grins broadly at the prospect.
Newly promoted teams are always the bookies' favorite for relegation but that's something Frank doesn't think will happen. But if it does, it won't affect his loyalty to the club.
"They don't want to go straight down and I've got confidence in them, but if they lose I'll take it on the chin."