A little moment of history was created at Turf Moor on Saturday when Graham Alexander became the second player to reach 1,000 competitive outfield appearances in English professional football.
Perhaps the 39-year-old Scotland international has rather limped over the line, with his latest 12 appearances coming as a substitute and none of them before the 72nd minute of a match.
But there is nothing fortunate about the extraordinary achievement of clocking up so many games and Alexander deserves enormous credit for reaching the milestone.
"It is a truly amazing landmark to reach," said Lennie Lawrence, who managed Alexander at Luton Town in the mid-1990s. "He is a fantastic fellow, a great lad and the epitome of what a professional footballer should be and how he should conduct himself."
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You can talk about the tactical tweaks and the changes in transfer policy, the studious preparation and the hard work done to shore up of the defence.
But when trying to work out how Owen Coyle has changed Bolton in the space of only 15 months from a team scrapping for their Premier League survival to a side on the cusp of their first FA Cup final since 1958, what really stands out is the 44-year-old's infectious personality and his truly remarkable enthusiasm for the game.
Every time I have interviewed Coyle I have felt energised and invigorated at the end of the conversation. It is impossible not to be caught up in the Scot's obvious lust for life and it is easy to imagine how players who work with him on a daily basis benefit from their proximity to him.
"The motivation of the players when they were growing up was not fancy cars or money but to be a footballer," Coyle told me. "I ask them to put the other stuff to one side and go and enjoy their football and give it everything they've got. For me, enjoyment of the game is absolutely paramount.
"All I ask from my group is that they give everything they can, every ounce of skill and desire to maximise their attributes so that they know when they go to bed that they have given everything they can to reach highest level possible."
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At Withdean Stadium
As soon as the final whistle sounded confirming Brighton's promotion to the Championship, manager Gus Poyet made his way towards the sanctity of the dressing rooms with a speed that belied the calf injury he is apparently carrying.
Midfielder Liam Bridcutt was not so lucky and found himself engulfed in a pitch invasion. By the time he left the field, his top, boots, socks and shin pads had disappeared. They were not so much given away as taken, and the 21-year-old had the expression of a man who was relieved to still be wearing his shorts.
The stadium announcer at the Withdean Stadium had repeatedly asked fans to stay off the pitch but, such was the emotion generated during Brighton's thrilling 4-3 victory over Dagenham & Redbridge, his appeals were always likely to fall on deaf ears.
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Hello, I'm Paul Fletcher and I mainly write about life in the Football League. I have a great enthusiasm for a whole range of sports and love to spread the word about the great game of rugby league. You can also follow me on 
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