Hard to believe it is 25 years in May when we last went to Roker park, and 40 years for the old Roker end being demolished.
Roker Park was never the same after they chopped 10,000 off the capacity when the roker end had to be truncated. Stadium of Light is a fantastic stadium fit for a top Premier club thanks to Bob Murray. Unfortunately a succession of disinterested owners have took the club to this pathetic state it now finds itself in. An absolute disgrace.
The club lives in the hearts of the people, not the owners. For those who saw Roker with 50,000 inside it's a memory that no-one can change.
stadium of light is brilliant, but when the wind hit the roker end in full voice it was amazing, i stood in the original roker when supporters were shoved down the steps when we scored ! oh i miss them days and Pop robson, Gary rowell etc. and thanks for all your comments lads. Edit, the Spurs 1961 and Man u 1964 games must have been sensational !
68 years since I first set foot in Roker Park. My old fella had a season ticket, but wouldn't let me go, said I was too small. My aunt lived above the general dealers, just outside the Fullwell end, and we (my cousin and I) would sit beside the window hear the roar and try to determine the score. One Saturday, Dad said to me you are old enough now, I'll take you across to the boys entrance, went in and was terrified, all these big lads running around, then one told me to go up the stairs to the terrace, couldn't see a thing, then some guy lifted me up and passed me down to near the front. Still couldn't see much, but the noise and being part of it made my hair stand on end. Non of my school friends were much interested in football, so I was pretty much a loner at the matches. My dad kept his season ticket for many years, but gave it up when Mcmenemy (spit spit) relegated us. But when I started work nearly all of my mates were Sunderland supporters, and I changed from the Fullwell to the Roker end. Absolutely loved Roker Park. After the SOL was built, I took my old fella, to the premier concours (fortunately the lifts were working) I remember him sitting looking down on the pitch and saying "My God, My God", he was so amazed, after being at Roker for so many years! He always talked about Roker Park and players he had seen, quite proud of his Roker Park days. Didn't realise it was 25 years ago that it ceased. Sorry about the ramble, just brought. back memories
Cheers mate! Don't post so much, being away from all the action and having fingers like elbows, it takes some time.
know i have said this before but... that first visit to roker park, was a night game and a few of us from school decided we would go...walking out onto the old roker end and looking down at what seemed to be a sea of green with the floodlights turning night into day and that feeling, something just 'clicked' and i knew i was going to enjoy this time. being a night game there was no great crowd, plus this was '72 and we were bottom of div 2, not a great game either but i ended up stood right behind the roker end goal as we scored a penalty to win, we had to leave early as one of the lads was only allowed to go if he was home by a certain time and as we reached the bottom of the steps there was a mighty shout of 'wont be very many going home' and the big gates started to buckle and shake with the lads outside booting them...scared the feck out of us but a steward got us out and it never put us off. the old place was and is a miss, but much like life itself those days can never return...but the SoL in full voice will create memories for the next lot of sufferers.
I remember going on a tour of the pre built SOL . I didn't have a ticket but was up that way in Shields and went for a look. There was a queue to get in and I went over for a nosey. One of the stewards/hospitality staff ? Asked for my ticket. I explained I was just up visiting family and just came to have a look outside. "Nee botha, get in the queue an gan in" I was well impressed from the outside but felt something lacking inside. Ok it was obviously much better getting to packed games than seeing an empty unfinished stadium. But it seemed to lack the soul of roker park at the time. Obviously we needed to move and it's nice to see it getting more attendance even in league 1. Although I think a full Roker park would of intimidated a lot of teams down here.
When the stadium first opened, this may sound strange, I was in the Fulwell end when Roker Park closed and I missed the crush of the flow of people when we scored. You could be standing next to a mate one minute and 10 ft away after a goal. Not the same falling over the seats!
