I was only 12 at the time and travelled down on Tennicks coaches which left Dundass Street at midnight arriving in London at 06:00 on the day of the game. Everywhere you went in London that day seemed to be full of Sunderland fans, with Ha'Way the Lads ringing round all of the underground tube stations. I was right behind the goal where Porterfield scored and Monty made 'that save', and the emotion of the whole ocassion was something that will live with me forever.
We arrived back in Sunderland at six the following morning and after a few hours sleep, it was time to prepare to watch the lads parade the trophy.
Me and my mates got in position at the Board Inn at Herrington, and the crowds were huge. I ended up running alongside the bus all the way to Roker Park going past huge crowds roaring and cheering all the way. The police estimated that 750,000 people lined that route that day.
I don't think our younger fans will appreciate how big the FA Cup was back then, where unlike today, the crowds for cup games were always much higher than league games, and to win the cup was thought to be just as good, if not better than winning the league.
That whole cup run was amazing, and I will never forget the noise and atmosphere that was generated by the 54,000 or so fans when we beat Man City in the 5th round replay at Roker Park. I feel that after that night, the fans really believed we could do it...Happy days...