There's nothing quite like going to see your team. You don't understand what it means to be a fan until you hear that roar, till you feel the heat of the flares, the turning of the stomach as the clock ticks down on those last 60 seconds. This isn't just a game, it's a life commitment, trust me I've been married to Sunderland A.F.C for 20 years, and unlike a real marriage there's no option for me to get divorced.
Last year I travelled a total of 7,989 miles to watch my beloved Sunderland, I saw every minute of every match, felt all the epic highs, and all the heartbreaking lows; trust me there were a lot them. From setting off when the sunrises, and arriving home long after its set, it takes a certain level of commitment to live life on the road as a football fan.
"By 1998 Sunderland had won 1 domestic trophy in 60 years. They had suffered third division football, 3 trips to Wembley in which they had failed to score a solitary goal and had not been in the top half of the topflight for 40 years. The Club had been relegated 7 times in that period. A whole generation had grown up on a diet of, at best, mediocrity. In terms of what should be parallel clubs e.g. Arsenal Man Utd and Liverpool, the transfer outlay was insignificant, a lack of "stars" evident.
Now you've heard about the what away days are, but the quote above is the why. Our football clubs reflect the community they derive from whether you look at Athletic Club Bilbao's policy of playing players only from the Basque country. Or Real Madrid's 'Galactico' transfer approach, where they sign the flashiest and most expensive players in the world in order to reflect the city of Madrid's upper-class population. Everyone's team stands for different values, some good some bad, now my club Sunderland A.F.C represent mine. Sunderland are currently sitting in the third division of English football, the lowest position in the clubs history. The average attendance in the Third Division is 7,192. But not at Sunderland, no the average attendance to a Sunderland A.F.C match is 30,000 strong. They have broken every attendance record in the league's history, they have won 6 first division/premier league titles and are one of the most successful clubs in the nation. As I'm writing this, they are currently down 3-0 to a mid-table Sheffield Wednesday side, with 4,000 mad Sunderland fans making the trip away from home, once again just to be disappointed once again.
Point being, supporting a club isn't about winning. It isn't about the flashy players; players come and go. It's about representation, Sunderland is a working-class city, a city my family proudly comes from. However, this pride stems from, something more than geographical location. Sunderland a city which is valued for nothing of note, produced Sunderland A.F.C. The cities very core, it is the pride of city, and it is at the heart of everyone who lives there. When Sunderland are losing suicide rates rocket, and when they are winning spending soars. Sunderland is a commitment, in life and in death. My great grandfather was buried in the red and white colors of our club, just as he lived in them. He like many others before him, devoted himself to our club. For what you must understand is that to the people of Sunderland football is religion, and the Stadium of Light it's cathedral.
コメント