The flags in the Roker End that greeted the Sunderland players as they emerged from the tunnel at the weekend were a sight to behold.
But by full-time it was the Black Cats' automatic promotion challenge that appeared to be flagging.
A 5-4 defeat on home soil against Coventry followed a midweek draw against Burton Albion, also at the Stadium of Light, has prompted an understandable outbreak of jangling nerves on Wearside.
Nerves should not give way to blind panic, however.
Sunderland are third in the table, two points outside the automatic promotion places with a game in hand of the top two sides.
'Blame me, not my players', says Jack Ross after Sunderland crash against Coventry City
They have five games remaining and know that if they win all five, they will finish in the top two.
That said, they have to face play-off chasers Doncaster Rovers at home on Good Friday, and automatic promotion rivals Portsmouth at home just over a week later, and suddenly those games look anything but straightforward.
Before Sunderland can look ahead, however, Jack Ross must first make sense of the madness that unfolded on Saturday.
And that process must start with an inquest into the defensive meltdown that made Coventry - one of the lowest-scoring sides in the division before their visit - look like Barcelona every time they came forward.
Not since Manchester United hit five at Roker Park in November 1981 had Sunderland conceded five goals iat home in a competitive game.
But Coventry helped themselves to five, with a combination of ruthless finishing and - more importantly - disastrous defending adding up to a perfect storm.
People can point to tactics, formations, a lack of protection from midfield, and come up with all kinds of theories.
The simple truth is that if your back four, and particularly your centre-backs, do not do their jobs correctly, you are holed beneath the waterline.
Sunderland's defence has been a weak link all season long.
Sunderland 4-5 Coventry player ratings: James Hunter's Black Cats match marks
The fact that goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin is a strong contender as player of the season tells its own story.
There have been too many games when Sunderland have won, or at least picked up a point, despite their back line, and precious few when they have done so because of them.
Centre-backs Tom Flanagan and Jack Baldwin have been accident-prone at various times throughout the campaign, but this was their worst display of the season by a country mile, allowing Bright Enoakhare and Amadou Bakayoko to slice through them at will.
Luke O'Nien has done a sterling job at right-back since moving into that role in December but he was well below-par, just as he was in midweek when Burton's Marcus Harness ran him ragged.
Left-back Bryan Oviedo offers Sunderland something going forward but defensively he was found wanting on Saturday.
Sunderland showed incredible character to come from behind three times, George Honeyman cancelling out Enobakhare's opener, then Charlie Wyke and Will Grigg ensuring the Black Cats were level at half-time after Bakayoko and Jordy Hiwula had given Coventry a 3-1 lead, before Max Power equalised after Jordan Shipley had put the visitors back in front in the second half.
But there are only so many times you can go back to the well and when substitute Conor Chaplin scored the fifth for the Sky Blues, Sunderland could not find another get out of jail free card.
And so Sunderland's unbeaten record at the Stadium of Light came to an end, 358 days and 21 games after their last home league defeat against Burton in April last year.
This was only their third league defeat of the season, and it ended a 19-game run home and away since their last reverse came before Christmas.
In the wake of this defeat, Ross said he will call upon players who are able to handle the pressure in the run-in.
Certainly Sunderland cannot afford to buckle under the strain when Doncaster visit at the end of the week.
Sunderland have already proved their strength of character multiple times this season, and they must do so again.
