Both fantastic days out but which one has the edge
For me it is 2019
In 1998 we went into the game knowing if we won we would be in the Premiership for the first time
In 2019' it was the hope that by winning someone would buy the club and it would hopefully be a 'New beginning'
No doubt that 1998 was the better game - probably one of the greatest ever Wembley finals.
The climax of both games was different tho.If we had lost the penalty shoot out in 98 we still had a future.
As we approached the final minute in 2019 I was fearful of another shootout and one I thought we would lose.
So to win the game with the last kick of the match was the best ever experience/feeling I have ever had at a Charlton game.
Just wish I could bottle that moment
Also the day was so much better for being with more of my Charlton mates than in 98
Arriving at Wembley station in 98 seemed to be a sea of Sunderland and the reverse in 2019
The atmosphere for me was also better in 2019
Anyway 2 fantastic days -Happy days
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partly driven by the fact that football as a whole was so much more impactful and central to my life back then. As you grow older there are so many other things in life that come into focus - ‘98 was the pinnacle for me and it will never be beaten
Both great days and I was with you at both matches raytreacy69.
But the 98 match was the greatest experience in my 50 odd years of supporting the club.
None of the off the field rubbish and club was unified from top to bottom and heading to a premier league where we could compete.
Bloody good day last year though even though even that and the state of the club feels like a lifetime ago at the moment.
Probably appreciated last year more at the time in a way as a rare as hen's teeth day of Charlton joy in a desert of customary bleakness.
Will be interesting to know whether today's generation feels the same way about harry kane and raheem sterling as my generation does about the Italia 90 and euro 96 generation in years to come.
2019 was great but it's the sort of day that I could see us having again (if we survive) and the sort of day that lots of clubs have had
'98 was unique, we got to witness one of the greatest games ever played at Wembley for the biggest prize. I just can't see any day coming close to it for drama, importance, the emotional swings or the euphoria at the end
Am I allowed to say that I loved them both equally, but differently ?
So, 1998 as well as for me, it was one of the best days ever.
The 2019 game was ok but let's face it Sunderland did not turn up and give us a game. Don't get me wrong the last minute winner was fantastic but does not come close to the legend's of 98.
In 98 the coach trip was so wired as it did not sink in what we had just seen at Wembley till a few days late when they had the open top bus throw charlton.
It will all ways be the best game I have ever seen with my dad and so glad I was there as football is not the same no more sadly 😢
As a youngster I had briefly couldn’t comprehend what Sasa had done and had to ask my dad what that meant.
2019 - couldn’t write a better script.
1998 for the game itself and the feeling of relief and mental exhaustion that lasted until my head hit the pillow some 10 hours later.
Two very different emotions that I wouldn’t change for the world.
1998 to answer the question properly because we were on the up and winning that meant we were back in the big Time and at The Valley and the heart attacks and emotional swings were perfect and sick, great days out with mates on the lash and there was unconditional love reciprocated between club and myself back then .
last year brilliant for being with one of my sons, the other 3 and Mrs were on holiday , doesn’t get better than a last minute loop but promotion to the 2nd tier does not compare with the top flight and we still had a twunt of an owner and his cloud was and still is hanging over us .
I'd only been a Charlton fan for four years prior to '98 so the win at the time felt great but deep down didnt mean as much as what it should have done
Although it was nice as learnt what the Charlton family was about, got the coach from Welling on my own as a 15-year old and everyone made sure I was safe and welcome
Last year I knew I'd struggle to get through the game and was feeling the nerves in the pit of my stomach the closer we got to Extra-Time
Still remember getting back on the High Speed @ St. Pancras, phone battery almost dead and just collapsed into the seat as the day had drained me... In a weird way was a great feeling
In terms of games; '98 had everythig, whilst '19 virtually had nothing, when the former went to a penalty shootout it meant there would be no shocks (in the sense that you knew the winning moment was close) - 2019 on the other hand didnt have that moment, it effectively came out of nowhere... I remember celebrating the goal that finally came in Carlisle and then learning that our rivals had lost, but a bit like Jackson against Queens Park Rangers, you just cannot beat a last minute winner... the bigger the game just makes the moment 10x better
The main reason being "little old Charlton" reaching the Premier League is far more of an achievement than returning back to the second tier, which is our natural level anyway.
And the club back in the 90s was something to be proud of, lots of people admired us for what we had incrementally built, winning at Wemnley it was the culmination of a decade's work on and off the pitch
I took all 3 of my daughters and it was @Len\'s_little_girl 's first ever game. I was worried that at just 7 she would be too young but she loved the day with her old man and big sisters. We met up with my brother and his wife too at the match. 'Er indoors didn't come as we were light of a ticket.
Just so she learned what being a Charlton fan was really like her second match was a pre season friendly away at Sittingbourne which Charlton lost after an error by a young Jon Fortune.
Last year 'Er indoors came with 2 of my daughters and one of their partners. The other daughter and my grandsons were on a prearranged holiday so I was spared the dilemma of whether or not to take my oldest grandson for his first game.
Unfortunately for various reasons he still has not attended his first game and, given the Shitfest, I wonder whether he ever will as the Club won't be there.
But as @oohaahmortimer says, the dark shadow of Duchatelet was still hanging over us. We could put it aside for a while, but it was still there. In 1998 all the stars seemed aligned, the boardroom, our Valley back and being rebuilt..
And in 1998 I didn't get my voice back for three days, whereas it only took 24 hours last year.