When the league fixtures are announced someone will invariably post something along the lines of “Breaking News: Each team will play each other twice at some point through the season.”

While the truth behind that statement cannot be questioned, on this occasion we could well look back on fixture release date as being one of the most pivotal moments of our 2025-26 season.

If the fixture computer had been particularly unkind and given us Liverpool or Manchester City away, then of course we would still have had a great day out, but the result would have almost certainly been a humbling one.

Even if we had a home fixture against that calibre of opposition, Saturday could have been a very different day.

Of course, the feelgood factor would still be there, we would have still had the impressive summer of recruitment, regardless of opposition the atmosphere would have been incredible but as is typical of the past few months, the stars seem to be aligning in our favour.

That special combination of opening day of the season optimism, the signings we have made, having a winnable fixture at the Stadium of Light on the opening day and the length of time since our last Premier League season all came together to create a truly unforgettable day on Wearside.

From a personal perspective, even the build up to the match hit different, after eight years away it still feels like a novelty to see the national media taking an interest in our signings, it felt good to listen to the likes of the Totally Football Show and Guardian Football Weekly discuss our chances ahead of the new season. After years in the wilderness we felt part of the furniture again.

There is a lot of talk, and justifiably so at times, about the sanitisation of the Premier League and the lower down the food chain you go, the more authentic football becomes, but this was flipped on its head on Saturday.

No doubt I will curse the tourist nature of some away trips throughout the season, I will celebrate a goal wildly, only to have my enthusiasm curtailed by a VAR check, but everything about Saturday exemplified why Sunderland needs Premier League football.

Let’s face it, after the novelty of the early days of League One it was pretty grim playing the likes of Cheltenham and Shrewsbury on a regular basis and even in The Championship, matchday could feel like quite a mundane event, even in a city as obsessed with football as Sunderland.

In the Premier League, due to the noise surrounding it, every game feel has its own self-contained significance, which was on full show from early morning until long into the night for our Premier League return.

As I walked through town to meet my friend at about 11.30am, the pubs were already packed, some entrances were decked out in red and white balloons and the whole city had a spring in its step.

Even by the standards of a matchday, the amount of Sunderland tops on display was a sight to behold, and it hit me just how much the landscape of our city centre has changed since we were last in the Premier League.

As I walked past the Fire Station, The Peacock and The Keel Tavern it was great to see so many people sat outside in the summer sunshine with their pre-match pints. It looked vibrant, it looked exciting.

My dad and I decided to go into the Stadium much earlier than usual and got into the ground at around 2.10pm, the concourses were already packed, and the sense of anticipation was palpable.

The upgrades around the stadium were a welcome addition, rather than grey concrete slabs we were met with reminders of club legends past, and looking around it felt like a proper home end, with elements of our identity everywhere you looked.

As kick off approached, rather than most fans waiting until as late as possible to make their way to their seats, people were prioritising being in the stands in plenty of time to roar the lads on to the pitch over necking an extra pint.

I’ve heard many people describe the atmosphere at the weekend as being akin to a play-off match or a derby, and I agree in terms of how spine tingling it was at times, but the vibe was totally different.

While before the Coventry game there was undoubted excitement, my stomach was also like a cement mixer from the moment I woke up that morning.

Yes, the lining the streets to greet the team bus was an iconic moment, but in the build up there was a nervousness, a tension and an absolute desperation to win the game.

In my opinion, Saturday felt like a day-long celebration as opposed to the feeling of trepidation that usually accompanies big games.

The pre-match rendition of ‘can’t help falling in love’ was up there with one of the loudest I have heard, and I must have watched footage of it nearly as much as I’ve watched our goals.

Throughout the match, the atmosphere was simply outstanding, the noise levels that greeted every tackle made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and the scenes of celebration which greeted each goal would have undoubtedly resulted in many cut and bruised shins on Sunday morning.

However, even more significant than that was the crowd’s appreciation of our tactical blueprint and how we will need to approach games this season.

Unlike last season, there seemed to not only be an acceptance that we would endure long periods without the ball, but the supporters completely embraced it.

Even when West Ham had spells of possession and pressure there were roars of encouragement, chants of ‘red and white army’ and every well-coordinated press was universally encouraged.

At full time, the atmosphere went from celebration to carnival like, as the stadium bounced all over singing ‘we’re having a laugh, we’re taking the piss, we’re top of the league with Regis Le Bris’, Eliezer Mayenda whipped the crowd into a frenzy and there was yet another beautiful chorus of ‘can’t help falling in love.’

After the match, The Sheepfolds was packed with jubilant Sunderland fans of all generations, basking in the glory of our first win back in the topflight.

Looking around one of the city’s new attractions it struck me that some families would have just been to their first Premier League game together, some of the young lads and lasses toasting the win with a pint would have been in their early years of secondary school last time we competed at this level.

The main narrative surrounding the game was about Sunderland returning to the promised land of eight years, but for me it goes much deeper than that.

It’s not just eight years of pain we’ve been through, it’s experiencing two record low points total humiliations, it’s nearly going a whole season without a home win, it’s winning just 58 home games out of 171 during our last Premier League stint, it’s being ridiculed and mocked by pundits for ‘leaving early’, it’s being kicked in the balls after another summer of getting your hopes up, it’s living and breathing the feeling of supporting a club with no purpose or direction.

During our last stint in the top flight we didn’t win a single league game in August from 2011 to our eventual relegation in 2017.

Now, we have a city on the up and a Premier League football team to get behind once more.

We are not getting carried away, we would all still very much take a 17th placed finish, but now it feels like we aren’t here to circle the drain. Should we stay up this season it feels as though there will be a medium to long term plan to take us to the next level.

In little over three years, supporting Sunderland has gone from being bourn out of a Kantian sense of duty to something to be immensely proud of.

During the excellent Match of The Day commentary, Guy Mowbray likened the cross and towering header for our second goal to a ball played in by Nicky Summerbee to Niall Quinn in the late 90’s.

In all fairness with Mowbray commentating on Sunderland, the lads producing a statement win in the Premier League in front of a bouncing Stadium of Light you could have been forgiven for thinking it was the late 90’s/early 2000’s.

We are back.