DEREK COATES

About this brick

Some people support a football club. My Grandad was Sunderland.His timeline wasn't marked by ordinary calendar years, but by seasons, promotions, and the enduring, hopeful heartbreak that we all understand. He lived and breathed Sunderland.His story with the club began in 1937. A different world, an entirely different era of football, but his passion never aged a single day. As I grew up, he made it his quiet mission to pass that legacy down. From 1985, when I was just a kid, right up until I turned eighteen in 1998, my season ticket was paid for. It was a given, an unspoken promise between us. He didn't just give me a space on the Fullwell End at Roker Park, and later the Stadium of Light; he gave me a sense of belonging.Every time a new kit was released, me and my cousin would be proudly sporting the new strips. Grandad always made sure of it. Buying those shirts was his way of wrapping us up in the community he held so dear. It wasn't just about football; it was his way of saying 'I love you' without ever needing to find the word.Sitting beside him in the stands, I learned about loyalty. I watched the way his eyes tracked the ball, the way he’d sharply draw in his breath when we pressed forward, and the way he’d softly shake his head when things didn’t go our way. He taught me that you don’t just love a team when they are winning; you love them because they are yoursHe is the reason I look out at the pitch today and feel a tightness in my chest. He gave me the gift of Sunderland, a gift of unbreakable loyalty, community, and shared moments. Every time I see the stadium appear on the horizon, every time I hear the roar of the crowd, I owe it all to him. Ha'way the Lads Derek Coates 1937 - 2010 (Sunderland Seasons attended - Fitting he managed 73 seaons)