“One Day, One Game, One Moment”
· Yahoo Sports
Andrew Thompson says…
Forced to watch from afar, the greatest moment for me was the moment the players broke their huddle after the match, after learning that we would be going to the Europa League.
Like a lot of fans all over the country and around the world, I was watching in my Sunderland shirt on a hot summer day in front of the television, not daring to believe it until I saw Granit Xhaka’s face and the jubilation that followed. For me, that moment summed up what Sunderland has become as a club — not only meaningful to the fans, which it always was, but to the players that’ve come in and we’ve made our own.
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Seeing in real time the final realisation that this season has had a crowning achievement was a beautiful, all-timer moment at the Stadium of Light for me.
Ben McKevitt says…
I have to agree with Andrew on this one – watching the players break out of their huddle after a crutch-stricken, 4G-channelling Dan Ballard revealed to the lads the extent of their achievement was incredible.
It’s quite unbelievable that nothing slipped to the players beforehand, so for them all to have that moment together in front of the fans showed just what it meant to each of them in real time.
Those lads gave everything they had for the team and the fans over the season and those ninety minutes, and their reaction summed up what every fan was already feeling — pure ecstasy and pride. It’s an historic moment and something that’ll be replayed for years to come.
Ian Bendelow says…
For me, any match is set apart from others by the moments which can only happen, in that context, at that time and in those circumstances.
To that end, it’s the advertising boards coming down after our second goal went in.
What else could sum up the feeling and just how much it matters to everyone inside the stadium, that such was the clamour to celebrate as one this was the outcome. Yet it was nothing you can imagine beforehand, but it was a perfect example of how emotion can release itself.
Thankfully no one was hurt, but what a moment, which truly dialled the Stadium of Light up to eleven.
John Wilson says…
I’m sitting in Wetherby Services the day after the match before.
I’m still trying to compute what has happened. I had this feeling last season when we returned to the Premier League, except this time, it’s a red letter day for our club. History has been made, so when I close my eyes and let all the images flash through, the one that comes first is watching the players’ coach come in, and the flares, the noise, the expectation.
It reminded me of the Coventry City semi-final, so I knew that the twelfth man had turned up and that Chelsea would be at a disadvantage. As far as one can know, I knew that every little thing was gonna be alright.
Jon Guy says…
For me, it had to be the impromptu speech from Granit Xhaka after the game.
It highlighted the progress the club has made the dressing room Régis Le Bris has created, the never-say-die attitude we now have and the fact that quite frankly the best Premier League signing of the season is committed to the cause and the club, gets the city and the fans and is already saying there’s more to come — and this after we did the double over the current World Club champions.
It’s been a season beyond our wildest dreams but we’re being told the ride is far from finished. This highlighted that the club is a totally different beast from those awful lows of League One, and that we have a leadership which is driving an ambitious agenda.
For me, it was the moment that delivered what I think we’ve always dreamed of.
Joseph Tulip says…
On a day of many magical moments, my highlight was the opening goal.
For Luke O’Nien to combine with Trai Hume — two players that’ve been with us on the journey from League One — was symbolic of our remarkable rise back up the footballing ladder.
Perhaps it had to be O’Nien and Hume in this final, all-important game of the season, as we secured European qualification. It was their unique footballing moment before the celebrations began with fans and families on the pitch.
Lee Morrison says…
Personally, it was a small tweak that set the tone for the rest of the day/evening.
I’ve already expressed this but I’m a massive, massive fan of the video played before kick off, where our captain, Granit Xhaka, gives us a reminder of how important our home is. At the end, without fail, I’ll take the “Haway The Lads” as a cue to shout myself hoarse.
However, it was the adjustment on Sunday that gave me goosebumps.
Hearing Xhaka himself say “Til The End”, knowing the magnitude of the game and what was at stake, set out our stall. The team was going to go all out for every challenge and do everything in their power to secure European football. It also felt particularly poetic, given what we’d witnessed at Wembley a year to the very day.
That small tweak made a huge difference and I’m certain that the mantra will prove to be equally important next season, where we’ll rise to new challenges. Haway the lads!