It feels like a right of passage to me at this point that every “first” as a Sunderland fan should involve losing; I like to think it prepares you for the life-long tenure you – or your parents - signed yourself up for. My first (and second) Wembley trip? Loss to Portsmouth on penalties. I can’t actually remember my first home game but rest assured it was probably a loss. My first away trip? A 2-1 loss to Preston North End. Despite the result though I absolutely loved every second of the away-day experience.
The day started out on a positive note with a trip to a Mackem-infested White Hart to watch the Lionesses make their way to the World Cup semi-final with a 2-1 victory over Columbia. This ended up being the cherry on top of a poor day in football terms. It must be said that as a fan of the women’s game, the immense pride of being in a pub full of predominantly men cheering on the lasses, even kicking off at the bar staff when they naïvely thought they were doing people a favour by swapping over to the Boro game when it kicked off. Something like that happening would have been inconceivable just a few short years ago!