Sunderland supporters and avid followers of the Netflix series Sunderland 'Til I Die know how hard the club has fallen in the past eight years after they were relegated from the Premier League. Quite frankly, the team’s collapse in the late 2010s should serve as a reminder of what teams should not do when it comes to business decisions. Nevertheless, after getting promoted from EFL League One in 2022, they launched a project which would revitalize the squad with youngsters at lightning speed and get into the Championship playoffs. Players like Jobe Bellingham, Daniel Ballard, and Anthony Patterson were built around as the club inched closer to their desired outcome.
This past season, Sunderland qualified into the playoffs after finishing 4th in the Championship League, but after beating Coventry City in dramatic fashion in the semi-final, the Black Cats had to face Sheffield United at Wembley to decide their fate; as you all probably know, Sunderland won the final and gained promotion into the Premier League, which was an unforgettable moment for their fans to experience.
However, the top flight of English football has recently become a graveyard for newly promoted sides, and it’ll take a lot for Sunderland to stay; if their 3-0 win against West Ham is any indication of their true level, perhaps they’ll stick around.
Sunderland wins first Premier League match in eight years
But that’s a conversation for another time. For now, Sunderland fans don’t care about the future.
They’re living in the now. They’re currently tied for second in the Premier League. They’re dreaming again, and it must be said that no other fanbase in the English football pyramid deserves this moment more than them. The vast majority of football fans never have to witness their team get relegated in back-to-back years, and those supporters have seen that happen in the not-so-distant past.
Yes, Sunderland’s win against West Ham probably won’t have any major title-winning implications, but for at least one more week, Sunderland are near the top, they deserve it, and it’s been a long time coming. The Premier League is simply better when Sunderland are in it.