I used to go to Roker Park and follow my team, some times they played well and I was excited, dreamt of glory then the next week we would lose and despair raised its head. In 1964 Charlie Hurley lead us back to the old first division, glory again. When I became a man I would still go to Roker but my visit to the sweet shop on the corner, you know the one, well that was replaced by a visit to a bigger shop called the New Derby and the sweets came in big glasses. Kick off came and we would be magnificent and those glory dreams would again appear, one year, 1973, we actually achieved glory but again it was followed by more defeats. In 1985 we again tasted bitter sweet times, reach the old milk cup final to lose to Norwich then got relegated, then our big move, we appoint Mr Mcmenemy to be our new manager, oh the excitement, oh the let down. In 1997 we hit the big time, left Roker behind and moved to the SoL, a new beginning under Reid and those glory days would surely follow. You know the rest but now I am, lets just say, a senior man, grey hair, expanding waist line, a few less teeth and I sit rather than stand at games. I see highly paid superstars arrive in their expensive cars, fine athletic specimens and at times they make me believe again, glory will be ours this time, I know it will and we visit Chelsea and yes, its true. Then next week, well it sort of follows the same routine, same superstars in same cars with same skills but a different performance, maybe this is what its like being a Sunderland fan, maybe I should be used to it by now. Cant wait for next Saturdays game, the smell of the burger vans, the excitement of the day, the buzz of the crowd, maybe next week it will be our turn, do you think it could be. I have waited over 50 years so I suppose I can wait a few more. Wise men say, only fools rush in, maybe there is a clue there?
Excellent Syd, very similar story to mine except we never had the glory! It even got to the stage now where i am dreading going to Wembley again!!!!
Nice one SYD, youve just put a little bit of my life story on here,but missed out the mince and onion pies and bovril.
when i was a boy......... i used to sneak into the derby before matches, and ask some grumpy old ****ers to sneak me a drink, never much luck though, an occasional slurp here and there. them from coxhoe were the worst???????????????
Used to love getting off the bus at Monkwearmouth and walking through the streets with my mates, surrounded by hundreds and thousands of Sunderland fans all talking about the days expectations, wondering what team would play and who would score. Walking past that same sweet shop as you Syd, i know the one you mean, it used to belong to one of my teachers but i never got any handouts off her. Policemen on horses that seemed massive to me as a kid, probably were, the streets were a sea of red and white and the atmosphere was great. Once inside the Fulwell end it was straight for a pie and a cup of Bovril, never could wait till half time. Still do the same now except i park the car in one of the side streets opposite the old Baths (can't bring myself to say the full title) then slowly make my way to the ground but the atmosphere isn't the same any more, expectations are still the same though and sorry to say, so is the disappointment afterwards. Only difference is I don't have to worry about walking home after spending my bus fare in that sweetshop.
I enjoy my games still, no longer drink at games because I;m always driving and no longer smoke. I miss the joy of standing in the fulwell end, a little merry with drink, *** in hand and laughing with all around. Bad games would see us all swearing, moaning and letting rip, one big family in red and white.
Ditto, the ***s have long gone as has the cast iron bladder so i usually limit myself to just the one pint otherwise i'm up and down like a whores knickers ganning to the bog, plus i have the car. There was something about standing shoulder to shoulder with about 15,000 fellow supported in the Fulwell end, raising the roof when we scored or had a near miss, singing your hearts out for the lads. Brilliant mate, just brilliant. I sit just behind the posh seats in the Premier Concourse, I still go off my rocker when we score but there's too many around me who just stand and politely applaud, it's not the same but maybe that's just me being all nostalgic, i dunno. I still wouldn't swap it for the world mind.
give me a wave on Saturday, on sky every week becasue I sit on the halfway line in row 13 so always see myself in my bright red coat.
Would do marra but just been offered some work over the weekend so i'll be down in Nottingham till Sunday evening, BUGGER, maybe give a wave to the camera's and i'll see it on football first.
Yes thinking back the best of our teams that Ive seen are the 1967 team (played Leeds in the cup replay), the 1973 team obviously, maybe one of the Bryan Pop Robson era teams, possibly one of Denis Smiths team's circa 1990, definitely Peter Reid's SKP/SNQ double 7th team....and briefly the 2010 team in and around the Chelsea 3-0 period (already a bygone era). That's what makes it so sad that I think a lot of us thought we've really cracked it this time, our best squad ever. But the departure of Bent and subsequent loss of form indicate its "same old story". "Its the hope that's the worst" as they say. I really do still think its one of our best squad s ever but they are chronically underachieving right now and the rest of the EPL has unfortunately caught up.
The three matches I've been to have all been brilliant. the atmosphere is electric. It's normally just the thought of '****, I hope we don't lose today, but if we win I'll be over the ****ing moon'!
What was that scruffy corner shop called, just over the bridge beginning of Monkwearmouth? On the tip of me tongue just can't get it, was ran by a fat old lady who always had a *** hanging from her lips with an inch of ash hanging on the end. Pretty sure we called it by her name! She looked about a hundred then in the early seventies.
