Charlie Methven has revealed that he didn't realise just how much Sunderland AFC meant to the city and its fans until after the opening day victory over Charlton Athletic.
After buying the club last May, Methven and principle owner Stewart Donald spent much of their time on Wearside meeting supporters and trying to convince a discontent fanbase that their intentions for the club were positive.
And despite plenty of interest in the pair just about wherever they stepped foot on Wearside, it was only after that thrilling last-minute victory over Charlton - courtesy of Lynden Gooch's header - that the penny truly dropped for the lifelong Oxford United fan.
Speaking to Express Newspapers' Ian Murtagh in the club match day programme, the Black Cats executive director said: "It got under my skin pretty quickly.
"I remember walking into a pub last summer and suddenly everyone was wanting to talk to me about the club, its heritage, its culture and, of course, its problems.
"Here in the North East the football club is special. It's not just about what happens on the grass. It's about community, history, a way of life. What they've got and what they've lost.
"One of the most memorable nights up here was after the last-gasp win against Charlton back in August.
"We went into town afterwards and almost every pub was drunk dry. That showed me what it meant.
"People say football fans in this region are more passionate than elsewhere. That's not entirely true because as an Oxford fan I was as passionate and committed as anyone.
"The difference is that down South we are in a minority. Here, everyone is wanting to talk about the club 24/7 and match days simply an extension of that - a massive coming together.
"I don't think it controversial to say that Sunderland is a poor city in economic terms, but what they do not necessarily have materially, they make up for with an overriding sense of community."
From that Charlton win on, Methven says he's felt an incredible sense of pride in being associated with the club.
He's spoke often of how proud the fans make him, and even went on TalkSport recently to relay beliefs that the Wearside fan base were under-appreciated elsewhere in the country.
As well as that opening day Charlton win, he can point to Trafalgar Square the night before the Wembley Checkatrade Trophy final as another highlight.
"It was quite mental," he said. "Extraordinary. More like a religious cult than a football gathering.
"At first we were just watching this amazing spectacle from the periphery but then Juan Sartori joined the masses - and yes, in the end, I couldn't resist diving in.
"Looking back on that fantastic night it made me think the fans are now saying: 'Okay, there's some way to go, but this feels like our club again'."
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