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!
With the England match over, and perhaps a sign of things to come, we walked to Deepdale in a torrential downpour. I’ve only ever been to four stadiums in my life for a mix of football and concerts: the Stadium of Light, the Etihad, Wembley and Cardiff’s Principality. Deepdale was a notable step down in capacity compared to what I’ve experienced already but that’s not to say it didn’t have its own distinct charm.
Home to one of the most unique footballing statues I’ve ever seen, one thing that struck me about Deepdale and its surroundings was the reverence in which Sir Tom Finney is held. His name graces the road that leads you to the stadium itself, as well as a care home just beside it. The Finney statue stroke fountain itself, entitled ‘The Splash’, was a pleasant contrast to your more traditional footballing statues such as our own of Stokoe which graces the Stadium of Light.
Inside the stadium the first thing on the agenda was scran. As a picky eater the catering choices were disappointing with the choice of hot food being limited to either hot-dog or pie – something that made me surprisingly grateful for the sub-par but comparatively diverse catering of the Stadium of Light. Having friends in Preston, I had been tipped off however to the delights of a Butter Pie – considered a delicacy in Preston, the pie consists of only two ingredients: butter and potato. After trying it I wouldn’t mind this phenomenon becoming more widely spread outside of the North West.
There were some elements of the Deepdale experience I didn’t envy however, such as the Icelandic-style Skol clap that preceded every corner for the home side. Not to mention the fact that this particular routine was lead by a distant drummer who thankfully wasn’t quite as persistent as the Pompey bellringer at Wembley.
All in all, what really made the day special was the near 6,000 Lads fans who had made the journey to the North West. The noise we filled that Stadium with, even in defeat, was something special. The sound of our fans singing our club’s anthem acapella will never fail to give me goosebumps. Singing it whilst an inflatable Mr Blobby was being bounced around that stand (I’m still trying to work that one out) definitely gave it that trademark away-day touch.
