'Longer, louder and angrier against Newcastle'
From the moment the final whistle went at Craven Cottage, the game against Newcastle has been on my mind.
I imagine I'm no different from thousands of other Sunderland fans whose thoughts will be dominated all week by the derby match and who will wake up with every new day feeling a growing anticipation for the weekend.
It was the first match ringed by both sets of supporters when the fixture list first came out in June and the tension will increase all week with the media focus on the game impossible to ignore.
Television, radio and newspapers will be full with the pre-match build up and I know that there will be some fans who literally won't be able to sleep this week with the tension.
When Saturday comes, it will bring an excitement like no other for fans on the Wear and on the Tyne.
And it's amazing to think that the moods of tens of thousands of people for days and, in some cases, weeks to come will be decided by the outcome of a 90-minute game played out on a patch of grass at Wearmouth.
That's the magic of football though and in particular the magic of the Sunderland-Newcastle derby which, in my opinion, is up there with the very best derbies in the world, never mind England.
Seven of the 18 players who made up Sunderland's squad against Fulham have never played in a Wear-Tyne derby. I imagine it will be a similar sort of ratio for the Newcastle players who took on Manchester City last night.
But if they don't know about it now, they certainly will by the end of Saturday night.
New arrivals who have been impressed since joining Sunderland, ain't seen nothing yet.
And at kick-off on Saturday, they will know all about the size of Sunderland Football Club and its rivalry with Newcastle United.
Back in the old days – back when I was playing at Roker Park – we used to run out at kick-off instead of walking out.
Every week you ran out, you used to be greeted by that same spine-tingling roar. The Roker Roar.
But it was always longer, louder and angrier when you ran out against Newcastle United.
Even now, I coud close my eyes and be able to remember the difference in decibel levels when Newcastle came to town.
Every one of Sunderland's players will feel that power on Saturday before a ball is even kicked.
It feels like a physical force – the sound and expectation of the crowd.
It pushes down on you and hopefully brings the best out of you too.
For all those Sunderland players on parade this weekend, there is the prospect of glory and a reminder of what football is all about and why they originally wanted to be part of it.
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Weather for Sunderland
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -3 C to 2 C
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Wind direction: South
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