Sunderland captain Lee Cattermole admits the chance to face former club Middlesbrough in the FA Cup with Budweiser is special.
The Black Cats pulled Boro from the hat as Fourth Round opponents after running out 2-0 winners over Peterborough United.
The draw reunites Cattermole with the side with whom he turned professional and captained at the age of just 18.
And the tough-tackling midfielder, who impressed once again during the win at London Road, couldn't be happier with the prospect of a Wear-Tees derby at the Stadium of Light later this month.
"I'm absolutely delighted with the draw," said Cattermole, who joined Sunderland for £6m in summer 2009 following a spell with Wigan.
"It's been a few years since I last played against them with Wigan.
"A lot of my family and friends are Boro fans and it will be a great occasion.
"My best friend in football, Matty Bates, is Middlesbrough's captain so it will be good for us to lead the two sides out."
Indeed, Cattermole says the family banter was flying just minutes after the draw was confirmed.
"I've been texting my dad, who's a big Middlesbrough fan," the skipper continued. "The banter has already begun.
"It's nice to be at home, which gives us a good chance. We've just got to keep going. We want a cup run.
"We've got to keep working hard if we want to push on in the league and in the cup."
Two goals in the early stages of the second half smoothed Sunderland's path to the Fourth Round as a pair of in-form stars struck again.
Seb Larsson opened the scoring with an angled free kick from the left which evaded everyone and snuck into the far corner.
Then the Swede turned provider, swinging in a corner which James McClean headed in at the near post to double the advantage.
And Cattermole felt Sunderland did exactly what they had to do in order to secure victory.
"It took us the first half to get used to the pitch, which was very lively, but we did well after that," he said.
"We're playing with confidence and swagger - there's some really good belief and the atmosphere is fantastic."
He continued: "We knew the only way we were going to lose is if our attitude wasn't right, if we made a sloppy start and if we let them take control of the game.
"Everyone to do with Sunderland is very happy right now and we need to keep it going."
