Think about walking into a football stadium packed with almost 48,000 people. The noise is enormous. You expect a loud chant or a pounding drum. Instead, the whole crowd starts singing a soft love song from 1961. Grown men have tears in their eyes. This is not a movie scene. It is a normal Saturday in northeast England.
This happens at every home game for Sunderland AFC. The song is “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley. The fans do not even use the real title. They call it “Wise Men Say,” after the first three words. That name lives on in their old fanzine and in their longest-running fan podcast.
48,000 Fans Sing the Elvis Anthem at the Stadium of Light
The tradition was born out of grief. Elvis died on August 16, 1977. Four days later, around 10,000 Sunderland supporters traveled to Hull City for the opening match of the season. Partway through the game, they began singing his melody as a tribute. Sunderland lost 3- 0. The song stayed anyway.
Almost 50 years on, grandparents still teach it to grandchildren. Fans sang it again after beating Chelsea, the win that sent the club back into European competition for the first time in 53 years. Soon after, Sunderland signed an agreement with the Elvis Presley Estate and Authentic Brands Group that will run for several years.
Elvis Presley Sings Can’t Help Falling In Love
The first result is a new away shirt made by Hummel. It is pink and black, the colors Elvis wore during his breakthrough years on the Louisiana Hayride, and a wink at his famous pink Cadillac. Inside the neck, you will find the lyric “Can’t help falling in love with you,” the club crest, and Elvis’s signature.
The launch date was chosen with care. It landed exactly 49 years after Elvis played his final concert in Indianapolis. The shirt is now sold at Graceland in Memphis too. The bright pink annoyed some traditional supporters, but most fans love it. It is really a thank-you note to everyone who kept singing.