James Copley: They laughed at Sunderland and we lived through it. Wednesday is yours, enjoy every second | OneFootball

After 53 years, Sunderland return to Europe on Wednesday, AZ Alkmaar at the Stadium of Light, a night to savour with the people who kept you coming back.

Before kick-off, look around and take a photograph. One day you will be glad you did.

The last continental adventure followed the 1973 FA Cup win and a Cup Winners’ Cup run. Generations have passed. Many leaving Roker Park then could not have imagined the wait, or today’s absences.

The scars are real. 19 points in 2003 then 15 in 2006, each a Premier League low. Wembley losses to Charlton in 1998 and 2019, Crystal Palace on penalties, Lincoln stalling promotion, successive relegations and four seasons in League One.

Leicester City’s youngsters beat the first team at home. Mansfield knocked Sunderland out of the FA Cup twice. Some afternoons felt like obligation, not joy.

Ellis Short’s era ended and the club drifted. Stewart Donald and Charlie Methven turned Sunderland into a punchline, Netflix’s Sunderland ’Til I Die airing the chaos. Jack Rodwell and Papy Djilobodji came to symbolise waste.

Still people kept coming. Now the city is represented in Europe by a team you can be proud of. Results matter, but so does feeling your affection for Sunderland being returned.

Make something of it wherever you watch. Call the person you always debrief with, think of the one you wish you could ring. Hopefully these nights become familiar, yet the company may not. Get the photo, sing, enjoy it together.

Source: Sunderland Echo

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”