My 12 year old lad has always been a reasonably reluctant Sunderland supporter - it`s quite hard when we hardly ever win, get relegated or take part in a relegation dog-fight each season, live a long way away so getting to games is difficult, when all your mates support successful teams and you`re the only kid in your school who supports Sunderland... He`s had no option until now though other than to "man up" and rely on the fact that all the blokes in our family are Red and White...he`s accepted his lot in a lukewarm kind of way. Then last weekend happened - we (him, his uncle and me) were part of the crowd in Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square, the singing, the laughter, the noise, the flares and (most importantly) the feeling part of "something" all clicked with him...he really did get what supporting Sunderland is all about. We then arrived at Wembley early and soaked up a lot more of the atmosphere... 1-0 up he went totally crazy 1-1 frustration - why had we not done more with the first half 1-2 the realisation that it wasn`t going to be our day 2-2 I cannot describe how excited he got - the pure heart-felt emotion Lost on pens - heartache On the way home he was upset, but after a while we started having a laugh about the weekend - he described the Saturday night as the best night of his life and the equaliser as the best moment ever...he spent all Monday bragging to his mates as to what he got up to over the weekend No longer is he a lukewarm or half-hearted supporter, but he has become a died in the wool full time member of the Red and White Army - he has a life time of pain to come. So everyone who was at the match, in Trafalgar Square or at Covent Garden - it`s all your fault that he`s going to have a lifelong problem with his hopes being dashed at every turn, with dodgy managers, awful signings who don`t give a damn and shattered football dreams - you should all be ashamed of yourselves, or... open your arms to a new member of the club - he`s converted... FTM
There was a young couple sat behind us with two boys about 8 & 6 years old, at the end of the match the older one burst into tears and his mother gave him a big hug trying to console him, I heard her say "never mind son you'll get used to this over the years to come" How wise are those words.
There was a lad behind me about 7 or 8 crying his eyes out at the final whistle and all I could think was you poor little sod run now mate run now.
