ARMCHAIR SUPPORTER

With ALS now becoming a hotspot for Sunderland fan poetry, Stephen W Atkinson has submitted his latest piece of work regarding the much-maligned "armchair supporter". Atkinson's poetry book, Pitmatic Lingo & The Halftime Bingo, is available at the ALS Shop...

To all the lads n lasses who travel home & away

To watch our beloved red ‘n’ white play

I doth my cap, & raise a glass

Your effort & support is truly first class.

To some it is life, their religion, an obsession

To others it's the day itself; time for a session!

Banter at a canter

The smiling, silent chanters

There's the rowdy, the singers

The round of drink bringers

The atmosphere makers

The wise, old mediators

The would be managers

The, bring their own sandwiches

The Mam, the Dad, the daughter, the son

The Grandparents knowing there job has been done

All this adds to the ambience of the day

In honour of watching the red n white play

But, what of the maligned ‘placca’ brigade!

The armchair supporters, their dues never paid!

Of which, I confess, I am certainly one.

I rarely get to mingle with the matchday throng

It's the usual stuff really, just life itself

Family & work, the copper jar on the shelf

But I still love the club, & always will

Since a bairn I've swallowed its sweet, bitter pill

But, I still get that tingle when matchday is here

Butterflies in belly, a fridge full o’ beer

Some watch it with family, in scarf-laden rooms

All singing along to red ‘n’ white tunes

Wise men say, only fools rush in,

But fools are we all, imitating ‘the king’

In man caves & pubs, we gather in tribes

Teasing, cajoling, exuberant with jibes

On TV, on radio, we listen, we watch

In hope the performance is near top-notch

But, this armchair is epic, continents it spans

From Mexico to Italy and still it expands!

And momentum is gathering, we're back on the stage

Black Cats released from their under-sized cage!

Look, all I am saying is that we're all here too

A chant from afar, & yet right beside you

We kick every ball, bow heads in despair

…Though, admittedly, from a more comfortable chair!

Ha'way!