And right here on 606, with me, Robbie Rubbish, now we have a brand new caller on Line One. Tarquin, which membership do you assist?
Good day, thanks for having me on. I’m an Arsenal fan for my sins.
Ever heard issues like this?
And subsequent on ‘Completely Pointless’, couple quantity two. Inform us one thing about yourselves.
Good day, I’m Sebastian, and I’m a Chelsea fan for my sins.
What’s this ‘for my sins’ enterprise? It implies excessive hardship and ache over time, and completely no consciousness of what ache is.
They’ve probably by no means seen their membership relegated, and so they’ve in all probability seen their membership win a serious trophy of their lifetime. Which sins are these? I’d need to spend years on neighborhood service and serving to previous women throughout the street for the remainder of my life to atone for the ‘sin’ of being a Sunderland fan!
After all, it’s all relative.
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Our fanbase was accused of the identical ‘entitled’ behaviour after we have been in League One, and with out which means to, some followers got here throughout as assuming we have been too good to be in League One.
After all, the vast majority of us accepted that’s the place we deserved to be, given the way in which the membership was being run, however deep down, all of us knew that Sunderland AFC was too huge a beast to be languishing within the third tier of English soccer.
I’ve by no means been one to suppose that my membership was any extra deserving than some other, so it actually annoys me when issues like ‘for my sins’ feedback pop up from established Premier League golf equipment’ followers.
Welcome to Anfield for the beginning of the 2025/2026 season, as Liverpool tackle Bournemouth.
Effectively, no. It wasn’t the beginning of the season, was it? That occurred two weeks earlier when the League One and League Two golf equipment kicked off.
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The media, in all its types, has an absolute obsession with the Premier League, with the opposite seventy two golf equipment and all the opposite pyramid groups an afterthought.
I hope I by no means flip into an ‘entitled’ fan; after all, after saying that, it’s a pleasure to listen to and to examine all issues Sunderland, with a larger frequency than we’ve been used to during the last eight years, but it surely’s in remembering the place we’ve come from in latest occasions that’ll maintain me grounded.
Final week, I used to be watching my stepson play a warm-up match for his U16 group and a fellow dad noticed the Sunderland crest on my shirt (I ought to add that that is in a Worcestershire league), so we chatted concerning the play-off matches and our eventual promotion.
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With out desirous to bore him an excessive amount of, I politely requested him who he supported.
“Cheltenham City”, got here the response. Effectively, when you’ve ever fallen off a ladder or suffered a critical accident, you might need skilled that unusual phenomenon, the place time appears to decelerate and virtually provides your mind extra time to react and adapt to the scenario.
It appeared like fairly a couple of seconds earlier than I conjured up a reply, however in actuality, it was in all probability virtually instant. “Oh, proper, Cheltenham. And the way do you suppose they’ll do that season?”. I’d by no means had somebody reply “Cheltenham City” to that query, however honest play to the man.
He’d been a season ticket holder for a few years, and his son was additionally now a season ticket holder. It was fascinating to talk about his group, as they’re maybe the membership I affiliate most with the bottom level in our historical past: that wet, bleak, chilly Tuesday night three years in the past, on the Jonny Rocks Stadium, after we misplaced 2-1 in League One.
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I’ll always remember strolling throughout the automobile park after the sport with my stepson and declaring the Sunderland bus to him. I glanced down for his response (three years later, I’m trying as much as him!) and noticed that he was crying. I’ve by no means felt so responsible — what have I accomplished, opening the ‘supporting Sunderland path’ to him for the remainder of his life?
However this Cheltenham dad had surprisingly low expectations for his membership, and I requested if his ambition was maybe to see them play within the Championship in the future.
“Good grief, no! I’d be content material if we might set up ourselves in League One and grow to be , regular League One membership. Our infrastructure and assist simply doesn’t lend itself to something larger”
It was a solution that was each trustworthy and made me recognize being a Sunderland fan — the place our ambition all the time has been to get as excessive up as attainable within the high tier. The sky’s the restrict.
I believe this ‘entitlement’ lure wears thinner the older one will get, and the rollercoaster of supporting the Black Cats takes on extra rails and extra twists and turns as you journey by way of life, so after we beat Wycombe at Wembley after that Ross Stewart strike, I met my older brother beside the Bobby Moore statue after the sport.
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I used to be with my stepson, and ‘huge brother’ was sitting elsewhere. We embraced after we noticed one another; sheer aid to be out of that terrible league. A purely instinctive response, and a recognition that this was one of many upward sections of the Sunderland rollercoaster in our timelines — or, relying in your view of rollercoasters, it might’ve been the beginning of a brand new downward part, as that’s the place the joy is!
As we embraced and slapped one another’s backs, I used to be conscious that my stepson was pondering, “What’s the massive deal? We’ve solely overwhelmed Wycombe bloody Wanderers!” He was nonetheless very younger, but it surely’s with loads of satisfaction that latest occasions have helped him to begin to construct the primary ‘upward part’ of his personal rollercoaster.
So, again to the Premier League days, or extra precisely, high flight days.
The League One playoff match was a high day, as have been the wins over Coventry Metropolis and Sheffield United — days that received’t go away me.
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After all I need my membership to initially keep up — which, by the way in which, I believe we would do with room to spare — however I refuse to grow to be entitled. I refuse to kick off and criticise hurtfully, and I refuse to count on us to beat Burnley or Brentford et al. After all, I hope we do, however there’s assist and destructive assist.
There’s nasty criticism and constructive criticism. There’s an consciousness of understanding that posting a response could unduly knock a participant’s confidence, or of being unaware of the ability of social media. We have to get the Stadium of Mild rocking each recreation — that’s our job.
Let’s see how far we are able to go along with this administration and possession. They’ve actually solely constructed thrilling sections of the funfair up to now, and I for one will strive very onerous to not really feel entitled. Ha’approach, me bonnie lads!