I’m extremely lucky that I have a very understanding wife.
The fact that she puts up with me for the other 364 days of the year is proof of that, but I’m certain that on Sunday, there would’ve been many a husband hearing the words, “You’re not going to the match today — it’s our wedding anniversary” — and even more so given the fact that the football club that I’m also betrothed to took me away on our anniversary the previous year as well!
May 24. Forever a special day in my world already, and now
eternally etched in the memories of every Mackem in the world. Doubly so.
They say that Wembley is a place for winners; the best arena in which to win a game of football, and it’s hard to argue that. A year on, and I still can’t scroll past a video of ‘The Big Man’ smashing us level or Tommy Watson’s parting gift.
Moments that you think won’t be matched for a very long time, but just one trip around the sun later, filled already with some sensational days in between, we were treated to more magic memories on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
I’m obviously biased, but I do think that a rocking Sunderland Stadium of Light has the ability to make a special occasion into an extraordinary one, and the place was absolutely jumping on Sunday; bouncing with a belief that we were about to achieve something that generations of Sunderland supporters have only dreamt about — and this time, it was genuine belief that this team were going to grab this chance with both hands.
That pre-match rendition of Wise Men Say was, I think, one of the most vociferous there’s been in years, if not ever, belted out with passion from a crowd who genuinely believed European football was within our grasp.
We’ve all been there before, sitting and watching Sunderland fall at the final hurdle. Two seventh-placed finishes under Peter Reid saw us miss out by one place, as well as losing an FA Cup semi-final against a fellow second-tier team.
But this Sunderland side is different.
They proved all season that they’re made for the big occasion, that they can handle the pressure when it counts and the prospect of ‘doing a Sunderland’ and snatching defeat from the jaws of victory just wasn’t on the agenda.
Even when Chelsea pulled a goal back out of nothing to change a seemingly comfortable position into a much more nervously familiar “Can we hold on?” scenario, you had the feeling that this team was never going to mess this one up.
I’m not used to all of the results going our way so that we achieve the perfect scenario, it’s rather a nice feeling!
You can’t heap enough praise on the recruitment team and the management for putting together a squad of not just talented footballers, but fighters, grafters, winners and immensely strong characters who have the shoulders capable of carrying the burden that we all put on them.
Florent Ghisolfi and company will have their work cut out this time around to match the success of last summer’s transfer window and, while we don’t need the number of recruits that we did then, we certainly need to match the quality of those who came in and hit the ground running better than any of us could’ve imagined.
There are those who were sceptical about pushing fully for Europe this season, worried that it would have too much of a detrimental effect next term, and while I understand where they’re coming from, in my eyes, you have to take the chance when it’s there.
With presumably a stronger Spurs, Chelsea and — dare I say — Newcastle all pushing for Europe next year, we may not have had this opportunity again.
Sunday was a day never to be forgotten, and now we have a chance to have some amazing nights both at the Stadium of Light and, hopefully, at some of the giants of European football — we all want Milan, don’t we?!
Yes, it’ll take its toll on the squad will require a Herculean effort to get as close to seventh again, but as long as we’re nowhere near a relegation battle, for me at least, it’ll all be worth it.
Who knows how it’ll pan out, but I’m extremely excited to see how it does — and one thing I do know for sure is that I have absolutely no excuse to ever forget my wedding anniversary!
