Being a Sunderland fan is a funny thing.
One minute you’re seemingly teetering on the edge of unholy disaster, then, poof — it can all change in an instant. You’re getting promoted, you’re winning games, and you’re on a cup run.
Just as quickly as things can ramp up, stuff goes awry and it’s that constant rollercoaster ride that makes Sunderland such a compelling football club — and why companies like Netflix invested money and time in documenting how batshit mental we are over a number of years.
Still,
it’s fair to say that right now, things are about as good as they’ve even been in my lifetime, and whilst the demon on my right shoulder keeps telling me that this will all go tits up eventually, I’m pleasantly surprised by how well we seem to be staying the course right now in the Premier League.
Trips to Anfield and Old Trafford are great, but there was something hopelessly nostalgic about Sunderland’s trip to Oxford on Sunday. It was warm, comfortable and familiar. We’ve been treated to some big games against big opponents with big-name players over the last six months or so, but a shithouse tussle with a familiar opponent at the weekend was the palate cleanser I think that we all needed after a run of difficult and demanding games in the top flight.
I love Luke O’Nien and Dennis Cirkin, so any opportunity that I get to see them run it back for us is a huge positive. And in both cases, they gave classic performances that reminded me of the days we spent in the EFL, going toe-to-toe with some absolute cloggers that on their day can scare and upset you if you don’t want it quite as much as they do.
Don’t get me wrong — I absolutely love Reinildo Mandava and Omar Alderete, and it’s been an absolute joy (for the most part) to see them in a Sunderland shirt this season, but players like O’Nien and Cirkin are the real reasons that I fell back in love with Sunderland all over again after an immensely mentally scarring period under some seriously shitty ownership and management.
They came along during the club’s worst ever period, and have survived to tell the tale. They — and we — are living proof that it doesn’t matter how bad things are, your club will eventually come out of the other side much stronger and better off for it. Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester fans, take note.
Of course, I’m absolutely buzzing for the game on Sunday and I can’t wait to be there to cheer the Lads on, but that doesn’t make the feeling of seeing the likes of O’Nien playing and playing well any less sweet.
I know Luke has a personal love/hate relationship with this here website, but he’s always been a Sunderland legend to me and I just absolutely adore him. He’s my favourite ever Sunderland player and I get genuine, serious pleasure from watching him play as well as he did on Sunday. It’ll be a sad day when he eventually leaves, so I’ll hold days like that dearly close to my heart and hope that there are still many more to come.
I hated the EFL but I can’t deny that it brought us many happy memories too, and it brought players like Luke, Dennis, Dan Ballard and Trai Hume into our lives, and for that I’m thankful.
Sunday was a reminder of the journey we’ve been on, passing through places like Oxford with players like Luke in our team.
Where are we headed from here? Who knows, though the trajectory of the club would suggest that there will be far fewer trips to places like Oxford, and perhaps far more trips to places that we possibly have never been before.
