I don’t mean to blow smoke up our backsides but Sunderland’s travelling support at Hill Dickinson Stadium at the weekend was, quite simply, immense – both in terms of numbers and noise. It helped make
for a classic cup tie and a great away day, but not everybody deserves praise for the way they behaved on the day, and as is often the case sadly the behaviour of a few thoughtless individuals provided a slightly sour note to an otherwise brilliant trip.
If you consider the timing of Everton’s equaliser it is not hard to imagine the Toffees going through – the heads of players that have just surrendered an equaliser invariably drop, and it takes a big shift in mentality to respond well. That is exactly what the Lads came up with however, and whilst it is testament to their own mental strength the non-stop backing they got from our corner of the ground must have surely helped too.
It was impressive to see the team going again at the end of a tiring festive schedule and it was certainly appreciated by the red-and-white army, who matched that effort with their own double shift. There was limitless encouragement and countless songs to try and keep the energy levels up, with Enzo Le Fée in particular seeming to feed off the positive vibes whenever his own chant got another hearty rendition, yet there was another, less impressive, ditty that got an airing that we could all do without.
Although mercifully short and soon drowned out by decent fans, it was utterly depressing to hear a few morons piping up with the Eddie Howe rubbish – not because Newcastle United deserve any sort of respect, but because one of the lines includes lyrics that reference a tragic story from nearly twenty years ago that is still very raw and painful for many. The whole concept would stink no matter what the context, but particularly so when the family involved were Everton fans and part of a group of people that have shown us nothing but love and empathy when going through painful moments ourselves.
To throw that back in their face or to use any sort of heartbreak to mock people is contemptible, and whilst it didn’t get much traction it does not excuse the incident, or similar moments where supposed mickey-taking has crossed the line. Sex crimes for instance seem for some bizarre reason to be ‘fair game’ at football stadiums but are anything but; there is no humour to be had, no points to be scored, and no knowing what other folk, even the supporter stood next to you and wearing the same colours, has endured in their past, so why certain people revel in it I have no idea.
At the risk of sounding pious, those representing our club and community should be held to a better standard. In light of the wide fanbase we have across the region I cannot say I am overly pleased either about the anti-Geordie stuff we hear a lot these days but presume that is more a semantics/flow thing than anything else, and that in those instances ‘Geordies’ should actually be translated as ‘Mags’, yet the sick chants relating to real-life misery and distress should be an absolute no-no.
The subsequent fourth-round draw sees us heading to Oxford United and that feels like it could be another cracker. Hopefully it brings us another step nearer to a decent cup run and a sniff of some success and hopefully, the singing from the away end entirely appropriate. There’s no problem with singing our hearts out for the Lads of course but please, can we forget the other stuff and turn our backs on the individuals that seem intent on making a show of themselves.
