what's your one defining moment as a Sunderland fan?

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FA Cup as a kid, followed by Rowell 24.2.79..

Others were West Ham last game of season when promoted (cant remember the year), Clive Walker scoring 4-2 win over Man U @ Roker..
 


2 others:

1. Going with my Dad to SJP to see the Scum vs. Scunthorpe (God knows why) and rooting loudly for Scunthorpe!! :p I must have been about 6 years old at the time (around 1971, I think).

2. "Watching" THAT play-off final against Charlton at work via the update on Soccernet. All sorts of swearing coming out of my office, as the roller-coaster ride ensued, and my Canadian staff all thinking I'm bonkers (I am, BTW! :wink: ).
 
Defining moment

For me it was my first away win. I'd almost given up hope. I began attending away matches during the 1968/9 season when I got an after-school job at Chester le Street market. I couldn't go to them all, but I went when I could afford it. That season Sunderland won only one away match all season. I missed it. The next season we only won two away matches. I missed them both. In 70/71 the pattern continued and sitting on the coach on my way to Blackburn in Nov 1970, having missed the first away win of the season at Luton two weeks earlier, I was resigned to defeat even before kick-off. I was actually the first person in the ground that day. I was only 14 and looked younger, so there was no way I was allowed in the bar with the rest. So I just stood for hours in rain which never let up all day waiting for the turnstiles to open. I remember that there was a poor crowd and the Sunderland supporters eventually occupied 3 sides of the ground. The match was played in a torrent but one save made by Jimmy Montgomery from Ken Knighton header was as good as any he made. (Knighton later said in the press it was the best he'd ever seen). Anyway it's the 90th minute and 0-0 and still pouring down. I'm happy to settle for 0-0 which in itself as an away draw was a rarity for me to witness, when we win a corner on the right. In a move that he later repeated at Roker Park, thus proving it was no fluke, Bobby Kerr met the corner on the full volley and it screamed into the net. 1-0. And it turned out to be the last kick of the match. At last. two and a half years is a long wait for someone of that age, but I'd stuck it out and knew that it was all the sweeter for that wait. That's when I knew what supporting Sunderland was all about. 8)
 
Don't think I can name just 1, so here's a list.

1, First game, aged 7, v Notts County, easter 79, sitting on a crush barrier in the Roker End, thinking how high up it seemed, wearing my Dad's Sunderland scarf that he'd bought for the 73 Cup final. I still have the scarf to this day, it sits in the back window of my car, and my eldest son now wears it to the match. Watching Siddall, Whitworth, Gilbert, Docherty, Ashurst, Elliott, Chisholm, Buckley, Lee, Brown and Arnott (sub Entwhistle) - still remember the team to this day. Won 3-0 and promotion looked to be on the cards. Alas it was not to be for another season.

2. West Ham (H) 12/5/80, Kevin Arnott's right boot putting us 1-0 up, and this time we were going up. (hence the monicker on this board)

3 West Ham (again) away in the FA Cup in 1992, thinking for the first time that this could be our year.

4 Sitting outside Wembley for the play-off final in 1990 cos I couldn't get a ticket. Over 100 Sunderland fans were doing the same, but most had travelled a damn sight further than me, as I was living in London at the time.

5 Aston Villa (H) League Cup 1994, probably our best performance under Butcher, but we still lost 4-1, due to inspired goalkeeping by Bosnich, and clinical finishing by Dalian Atkinson. After the match I didn't hear a single Sunderland supporter bemoaning bad luck, all the talk among Sunderland fans was admiring Villa for the way they took their chances, and saying that's why they were a premier League team and we were in Division 1. I've always believed that we are more knowledgeable about the game than most fans, and this just summed it up for me.
 
Mike_Hunt said:
Thought Leicester won the league that season, we went up as runners up.

My all time favourite at Roker Park was Gordon Armstrongs header against Chelsea in the quarter final replay, as it looked as if Chelsea would go on and win it after they equalised. :p :p :p :p :p :p :p

No, we went down that season 1976/77. We went back up 1979/80 as runners up to Leicester. Excuse me whilst I adjust my anorak :oops:
 
Corvus,

I think Mike was querying Tasmanpaddler's posting which started this thread about beating West Ham when they won the cup and we won the League. As you said, we were runners up to Leicester that year due mainly to a 0-0 draw against them at Roker in March. If we'd won that day we'd have gone up as champions.
 
Kevin Arnott's right boot said:
Corvus,

I think Mike was querying Tasmanpaddler's posting which started this thread about beating West Ham when they won the cup and we won the League. As you said, we were runners up to Leicester that year due mainly to a 0-0 draw against them at Roker in March. If we'd won that day we'd have gone up as champions.

bollocks, can't even get my defining moment right, which just about defines me! :oops: It felt like being champions that night. I had to constantly stand on tip toes to get a view of the game, and just managed to see Stan's goal.
 
Being just behind and to the right of the goal when Cloughy went for a ball breaking out from the box, and broke his leg, which effectively ended his playing career. My memory wants to tell me I heard it break, but that may be embelishment.

The other would be being rolled over the heads when us young 'uns were being crushed against the barrier in the second of the three games against Man. Utd. in the cup. One of the men gave the sound advice to keep your hands in your pockets if you had any change.
 
My First Two Games

My First Two Games Following The Lads Were So Memorable
Sunderland 6 - 0 West Ham
Sunderland 6 - 1 West Brom
I Think I've Got Them The Right Way Round ( Was A Long Time Ago ) Can't Remember Which Year...1978-79 Season I Think
 
tasmanpaddler said:
preferably a game, away trip or whatever associated with SAFC that defines what the club means to you:

sense of community - Man C FAC '73 people driving a wedge into the back of the Fullwell to get you in
wide range of new smells - Clough/Halifax Reserves. Peanuts tanner a bag.
anticipation - e.g. Roxy Music on Roker PA (Berlin calling...) in the cool night air before W Ham H '80
ups and downs - too many too obvious to say. Settle for a combo: Falling down a road hole on holiday in Rhodes while walking and overstudiously reading opened paper on FA decision to relegate Swindon. 'Quinn, 90' at the end of an end-to-end game on teletext was always a wow. Forest 3-0 (90's) was a peak in away crowd intensity for me but then I missed the famous noise at the midweek comeback at Norwich years earlier.
Downer: Going 1-0 down during half time interval (v Boro away). I'd arrived a couple of minutes into the game and was oblivious to early goal scored.
Pride in supporters in adversity - loads again but Man C away mentioned in other postings was special. btw The Vic Reeves man-with-a-hat sat just behind me. And a bald bloke incessantly yelling at people to sit down. At half time, the 'James' song duly came on the PA and dozens turned in unison to give him a full blast of the chorus.
Listening to some over the decades I'd say, for them, a chance to have a good moan. Then there's the hope: A surprisingly good season coming up.
 
Corvus It was Bristol City on a Friday night, and if my the old grey matter serves me well I think Tom Ritchie scored the goal, but can't remember why it was on a Friday night though.

8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)
 
Defining Moment

Sitting in the stand at Selhurst Park after the Wimbledon game & then listening to the last 10 mins of the Spurs v Coventry game on the radio.

When it was all over & we were relegated, i just sat, head in hands, crying my eyes out-desperately sad, angry & frustrated with one P Reid-5 years on and nothing has changed.

And the journey back up the M1 was horrendous-with Cov fans passing us & taking the piss.
 
What an excellent thread. At this time when I'm feeling really depressed about being a Sunderland fan this thread has rekindled the pride. Reading some of the posts brings back great memories and I love hearing the stories from before my time.

For myself there were some superb defining moments, Man City in 91 was something special but so very sad and in contrast the FA cup 1/4 final against Chelsea when Gordon Armstong scored THAT header, the state of delirium I went into could be bottled and sold for a high price.

But I think the one defining moment for me was the night before the play off final with Charlton.
Me and a few of the lads went down to stay at a mates a couple of days early then went up to London on the train the day before the game. We got to trafalgar square quite early and there was only a few mackems dotted about so after a quick kick about with some lads we went in search of booze. Having Sunderland shirts on stopped us from getting into most pubs. The crappy Football Fooball aside, so we just ended up getting cans and wandering London Village. After a few hours wandering and dancing with mexican street bands we were in Leicester Square and someone said we'd better make our way down to Trafalgar, someone else asked which way it was and I just said listen. Over the noise of London hubbub you could faintly hear "Flying high".
We followed our ears and what we saw will stay with me forever, we wandered down one approach road under some supporters club huge flag and when I got to Nelsons Column there was about fifty hands just reached down and pulled me up. My eyes just welled up and tears followed with the pride I felt as the whole area was just swathed in Red and White, everyone chanting, waving flags and the the songs kept flowing.
The best moment of my life so far to be honest, not just in football. I've never been so proud, I had a chest the size of a keg of Samson.

Then we jumped naked into the fountains and buggered off! :lol: :lol:
 
Re: My First Two Games

Wassy ( T-L-O ) said:
My First Two Games Following The Lads Were So Memorable
Sunderland 6 - 0 West Ham
Sunderland 6 - 1 West Brom
I Think I've Got Them The Right Way Round ( Was A Long Time Ago ) Can't Remember Which Year...1978-79 Season I Think

The year/season was 1976/77 (we got relegated) and we scored 16 goals in 3 games after scoring about one all season!
We beat smogs 4-0, midweek game beat WBA 6-1 and following saturday beat West Ham 6-0! Happy days in the Roker End with pastie and cup of bovril :)
 
Mike_Hunt said:
Corvus It was Bristol City on a Friday night, and if my the old grey matter serves me well I think Tom Ritchie scored the goal, but can't remember why it was on a Friday night though.

8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

Mike, the goal was definitely scored by Mel Holden, it was before Tom Ritchie joined us. For the life of me though I can't remember why it was played on a Friday night. Was there some big sporting event being shown on telly the following afternoon? I can't remember another occasion when a match was played at Roker on a Friday night. Come on someone, dredge the old (operative word?) memory banks and come up with the answer.
 
Goal against Bristol City in 76-77 was definitely scored by Mel Holden. Ken Knighton signed Tom Ritchie during the 80-81 season, he scored a hat-trick v Birmingham at Roker in Mick Docherty's first game in charge at the end of 80-81, but apart from that game he was a flop at SAFC.

Prior to that Bristol City game, we went something like 13 games without a goal. It was a bad winter and games were getting postponed all over the country, except ours.

A run of about 10 defeats, not big defeats, just 1-0 and 2-0 but always beaten and never scoring (we did score in the Cup v Wrexham in a 2-2 draw but lost the replay iirc). Then things started to improve 0-0 v Stoke, and 0-0 at Arsenal, before those four home games when we went goal-crazy, and moved out of the relegation places, however everybody else had games in hand. Those games in hand did for Sunderland, just one postponement during the winter when confidence was low would have done.

Don't know why the match was on a Friday night though.
 
Mine had to be Chelsea 92 FA cup at Roker,

That was the first and only time I really heard the REAL Roker Roar. No crowd in the world could generate as much noise. Everyone knows about the game but what really makes my heart swell with pride is when I watch the video of the match. About 67 minutes into the game, someone is down injured and recieving treatment. All of a sudden you hear "And it's Sunderland, Sunderland AFC, Were by far the greatest team...." Martin Tyler commentator utters in disbelief "I know fans will take me to task, but where else do you find fans so commited to the cause".

In fact, from now on, whenever I post a message on this board, I will use that as my signature.

Ha'way the lads
 
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