I was tickled pink to help out my club
overwhelming interest. They must wait to return in September for the next batch – a month into the second third-tier campaign in the club’s 138-year history.
It is not seen as a chore, it is a genuine honour for these fans to play a part in literally rebuilding their club.
As Chris Flynn, 52, said: “It’s a great way of getting fans back on their side, and for us to give something back. It’s about reconnecting fans. It’s about bringing pride back to the club, pride back to the shirt.”
Former owner Ellis Short sanctioned a full renewal of the seats as part of the Stadium
of Light’s 20th birthday celebrations but only one stand was completed before the money dried up.
Upon entering the stadium to begin work for the afternoon, the scale of the task became apparent. The ‘Ha’way the Lads’ slogan in the North Stand was scarcely visible in the sea of pink.
Yet still, several dozen hardy Mackems beamed as they entered the arena for the afternoon; the years of hurt have taken their toll, but not enough to extinguish the buzz.
Spanners were handed out to the many, electric tools were passed to the few. It may seem like a laborious, tedious task, but these people regularly come here to watch Sunderland play, a greater source of distress than any manual labour.
These fans have witnessed just three home league wins since December 2016, which made the process of knuckling down on a dusty concrete floor to rip out seats an oddly therapeutic 90 minutes inside the stadium. Club staff were on hand to offer refreshments and gratitude without targets, timescales or deadlines and, despite the lack of a cracking whip, about half of the 10,000 seats were fitted in just a third of the 10-day stint. Fan Rebecca Wilkinson, 23, said: “I want to be able to take my kids in the future and say, ‘Your mam changed these seats’. This is a part of history.” This great club accepted the unacceptable for too long, and while fresh seats will not steer Sunderland back to the top flight, they are the first sign of pride making a comeback to Wearside. Certainly the satisfaction I gained from looking across Row 26 in the South East corner knowing ‘that was me’ was immense.