Like me, I am sure that you have consumed every single fibre of content before tonight’s game – whether it be articles in Roker Report, press conferences from Régis Le Bris and Granit Xhaka, or some of the promotional material from TNT Sports. It still feels very much like a fever dream. Sunderland are in European competition tonight. As Nick Barnes mentioned in the press conference, it was five years ago when we were drawing 2-2 against Simon Grayson’s Fleetwood Town. Now, we’re preparing for one of the biggest
nights in the club’s recent history.
So, it goes without saying, but I am certain that the lights will feel a bit brighter tonight. The rendition of ‘Wise Men Say’ is going to hit a bit heavier than usual. The noise that will encourage the lads before kick-off is going to carry over 50 years of anticipation.
For many of us, though, as kick-off gets closer, our minds will be wandering away from the pitch momentarily. Instead, they’ll be drifting to gaps in the crowd.
We all know that matchdays are rarely a solo effort. As creatures of habit, we all have our own matchday routine – whether that be a particular route to the ground, an agreed venue for a pre-match pint or, for the less daring amongst us, it might be a particular bag of sweets that you opt for on an almost religious basis. Regardless, it is the people around you who help make the matchday experience particularly memorable.
Growing up and going to games, our routine was set in stone, always walking the exact same route to the ground, every single time without fail. Walking over the Wearmouth Bridge and amongst the crowds, we would debate over line-ups and try to predict the first goalscorer. Without fail, it’d be a Sunderland player who would score first. Quite often, the reality would be a bit different.
Before every home game now, my matchday routine has a new feeling to it. I make sure I take the time to visit the memorial garden, before then going outside the stadium to have a chat and some time to reflect with my dad. He was the person who introduced me to this club and the one responsible for passing on the joy of being a Sunderland supporter (although, he was also responsible for passing on the curse of supporting Sunderland, meaning that I had no other option other than to watch us play against Fleetwood).
Put simply, like many others, he would have loved to have been there tonight, watching Sunderland AFC make history. On a personal level, I’ll be experiencing some mixed emotions. I can’t actually put into words how proud I am of this team and what they’ve been able to achieve. It goes without saying, but I am beyond excited to see our first European game at the Stadium of Light. In the same breath, though, I would love the chance to watch another game at the SoL with my dad. The people who kept the faith through some truly dark years – the ones who believed that we would get to a level such as this – aren’t going to be here to see it.
It’s why my thoughts keep turning to the SAFC Heaven Branch and the role that they are going to play tonight.
The Heaven Branch exists on a simple idea: when a fellow supporter passes away, our connection with them doesn’t just stop. The red flag keeps flying high. Through their recently renovated memorial space, the opportunity to benefit from bereavement counselling and the quiet community that has built up, they remind us that we aren’t just Sunderland til we die. It actually goes beyond that. I’ve been eternally grateful for the work that they do and have benefitted personally. They help make sense of the spaces that are left behind.
When the lads step out onto the pitch this evening, they aren’t doing it in a vacuum. Every single kick is being backed by every single person who ever loved and supported this club. They are being backed by people who dreamt of nights like this but passed the baton on to others before the time had arrived.
So, as you head to your seat, take a second before the ball is kicked. Look around at the empty seats or think about the empty chair at home where someone previously sat. As I walk the familiar route to the stadium, I’ll still be making a mental prediction for the first goal, missing the voice that I was so used to replying to.
If you’re either at the game tonight or watching it at home with a heavy heart, missing the person who would be standing next to you, please rest assured that they helped build the foundation that this momentous night is taking place on.
We have waited over fifty years to bring European football back to Wearside. As we sing our hearts out for the lads and roar the team on, we can rest assured that there’ll be far, far more than 47,000 supporters in attendance.
Let’s make it a night to remember!
