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Back in the summer of 1997, the British football team Sunderland A.F.C. had a bright idea. Until that point, football teams had been running out onto the pitch at the start of games to the sound of pop music. But, as they began a new era at a brand new home (the state-of-the-art Stadium of Light), why shouldn’t they try something a little different?<\/strong><\/p> And so, as the Black Cats emerged from the tunnel for the first home match of the season, it was the sound of Prokofiev\u2019s Dance of the Knights<\/em> booming through the PA system that greeted them.<\/p> It worked a treat, as that first match saw Manchester City vanquished 3-1. Sunderland would come third that season before finishing top the following year and gaining promotion to the Premier League. The choice of music also made its mark outside the ground \u2013 when Prokofiev<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s Romeo and Juliet<\/i> ballet toured the area in 1998, members of the audience were seen to be wearing red-and-white stripes (and Sunderland manager Peter Reid was even rumoured to have attended too).<\/p>