Magic. Unforgettable, incredible, emotional. Awe-inspiring, entertaining and enthralling. But more than anything else, just pure magic.
Nottingham Forest’s season has been absolutely magical. The kind you wish would never end. The kind which comes with a warm, fuzzy feeling you wish you could bottle and keep forever - all the joy, excitement, elation and, yes, the nerves, too.
It’s a season which has forged new heroes and legends at a club where they have been in short supply for far too long. A season filled with tales to recount years from now, of dramatic comebacks, away-end limbs, thrilling victories, wonder goals, shootout stars and Wembley.
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Most of all, Wembley. May 29, 2022. The grandest of stages for the most fitting of ends to this season for the ages. From the bottom to the top.
There may not be another one like it Trentside for a long, long time. Not with the same kind of remarkable rise, not with such a release of pent-up emotion after so long without any kind of success. From now on, it will all be different.
The club, the city, has been waiting for a spark to ignite it. Forest have been waiting for this moment for more than two decades.
All the agonies, the heartbreaks, the false-dawns, the dashed hopes, the unbearable lows, they stack up to make this moment all the sweeter. Even the start Forest had - their worst for more than a century - only adds to what has made this year all the more special.
It’s a season which has made fans fall back in love with their club, sing louder than they’ve ever sung and left them bursting with pride. It’s a season which leaves your cheeks aching from smiling too much and your arms covered in goosebumps.
This team. This manager. Steve Cooper and the class of 2022. They have carved their names into Forest history.
Back in the Premier League. Feels good reading that, doesn’t it? Back among the elite.
A season which threatened to unfold like so many before it - or, potentially, even worse - has become one of the greatest of stories. A campaign and a club transformed.
Last August almost feels like it belongs to a different era, of a different time, rather than just nine months ago. A season which began with Reds supporters back at the City Ground - back home - for the first time since the pandemic was headed in a downward spiral. The atmosphere turned toxic.
Contrast that with how alive the stadium has been in recent months, crackling with electricity, united in a common purpose. The bond between this group and the fans has grown stronger and stronger.
No more was that evident than in the semi-final against Sheffield United. At 2-1 down on the night, level on aggregate, and under the cosh, the whole ground got behind the team. They sang and sang and sang, carried them to the end of the 90 minutes and through extra-time.
Cooper’s side were not at their best that night. But they have thrilled on so many other occasions.
When they’re on fire, they’ve been difficult to live with. Promotion is thoroughly deserved.
Cooper arrived at a club which was rock-bottom and headed in one direction. Morale was on the floor.
Not only did he revive a season, he rejuvenated a fanbase. It has been one hell of a ride.
From Bristol City away to Jack Colback’s last-minute equaliser at QPR. From thumping Swansea City (twice) to downing Derby County on the banks of the Trent. Seeing off Arsenal and Leicester City, going toe-to-toe with Liverpool, cruising past Blackpool and digging deep at Fulham. So many outstanding performances.
But this campaign isn’t just about the stats which will go down in the record books, as brilliant as they are. It’s about Joe Worrall’s headed tackle in the last 10 minutes when 4-1 up against the Foxes. It’s about the lucky hi-vis kit, Colback clasping a hand over his mouth after scoring that worldie and Brice Samba playing with a giant lump on his forehead.
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It’s about Speaker Boy, Forza Garibaldi’s epic displays and the fireworks from Eva’s Grill, Djed Spence’s mum joining in the singing about Neil Warnock and Steve Cook chanting about going to Wembley. It’s about the fist-pumps and Cooper bursting through the police line at Craven Cottage to roar in front of the away end.
It’s about the pigeons on the pitch against Leicester, Lyle Taylor’s penalty at Ashton Gate, the inflatables army and Brennan Johnson’s bow-and-arrow celebration. It’s about Philip Zinckernagel’s miss against Liverpool and Sam Surridge’s non-penalty at Bournemouth. It’s about Ryan Yates missing the pile-on after penalties, Cafu holding Louie Sibley in a headlock and Just Can’t Get Enough.
It’s about the hairs on the back of your neck standing up as Mull of Kintyre echoed around Wembley. It’s about Freed from desire blasting out. It’s about watching on and celebrating with family and friends.
All of those little moments. The ones which stick in the memory just as much as the scorelines.
You can add Worrall and Lewis Grabban lifting the trophy aloft at Wembley to that collection. A brilliant end to an utterly magical season.
