Sunderland news: Pat Nevin on Premier League promotion

Arguably the most dramatic moment involving the Premier League at the weekend, happened in the Championship playoffs when Sunderland magically gained promotion in the 95th-minute of the final at Wembley.

Tom Watson’s fabulous goal may be one of the most lucrative strikes in football history considering the money Sunderland will now bank. Tom could just as likely have seen the keeper read the shot a mere millisecond quicker and Michael Cooper would have tipped it round the post, but the keeper was short by a centimetre. Luck and skill together determining all in an instant.

Another Tom Watson, this time the golfer, holed a chip on the 17th at Pebble beach in the 1982 US Open and it was just as iconic. Had Tom’s chip been a centimetre to the left or right and not hit the flag then dropped in, a two putt was almost certain. Jack Nicklaus would have caught him, he might not have become champion and history would have changed.

This is why great sport is irresistible. The skill, the luck and the tiny margins change life courses and produce memories and passions never to be forgotten.

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