Loyalty, Locality and Location....

I Live in Swansea. My Dad used to take my brother and myself to home matches when we were kids.

We went to the Milk Cup Final against Norwich. Heartbroken.
Went to the play off finals against Charlton. Great game. Heartbroken.
Went to the FA cup against Liverpool. Heart broken.
Met Kevin Phillips in Toys R Us in Steveneage and made a right plum of myself.

Now to the point of the article....I don't live in the North East anymore. I live in Swansea. This does not detract from my love of the club. This is where circumstance has landed me where I live with my beautiful family.

My son and I will be attending a match here and there when he is old enough and it is possible....This does not detract from my love of the club.

Forums like this are a link to the loyalty, feeling and love that is shared by Sunderland supporters. I feel sad when I see comments of detraction aimed at those of us who are unable to attend matches. It shows a narrow minded mentality.

I hope all posters who feel the same continue posting and are not put of by the inept prattlings of a few.

Except for Aussie Mackem who is clearly just lazy not making a round 48 hour flight to the SOL for a home match on a tuesday evening! Shame On You!

 

"I hope all posters who feel the same continue posting and are not put of by the inept prattlings of a few."

It's only one, and he/she is obviously mentally unstable.

 

If its in your blood, its in your blood, doesn't make any difference where you live or hail from - I love seeing the scandanavian SAFC supporters flags and such - if we get into Europe, what then ? not let non-Sunderland based fans go to the away matches ?

 

You are spot on about these forums mate, to me its great to just talk to fellow fans and their location never comes into it. Many of those fans who live abroad and dont have the same access to SSN so these forums are their life blood.

I think the only absent fans I get at are those who go to a local pup and watch live games on TV. Location, finances, family and work committments all stop people attending games.

 

Is that doggy fashion, Syd!?

 

I wouldn't let a certain 'big' lad put me off posting on here. It is great to keep in touch via this forum. I still have a sister in Seaham but most of my old friends have long since left the area. I still get up to NE now and again and it is always great to go to old haunts. By the way you guys are lucky to have a pub like Fitzgeralds in Sunderland - fantastic real ale - another passion of mine. If anyone has any reason to travel to Bristol (not sure why you would mind!) I can point you in the direction of some great pubs/restaurants. I used to go to the matches with my uncle from about the age of 7 (I am now 49) and continued to go to most of the home games until I was 18. I have been to matches on and off since but as I have said most of my mates have now left the area. Still get really excited on match day and like to keep up with how the lads are doing.

 

Well said Swanseamackem, I have relations living in Swansea, Morriston to be precise. The brother in law(ex forces) married a Swansea lass and has a daughter who along with her dad gets to the sol whenever she can.

 

I'm born and raised in Cwmbran, South Wales. My old man is a massive Sunderland fan, I was brought up travelling up and down the country following Sunderland. I love the club and really couldn't care less what people like 'Little Chris' think, the narrow minded goon is more of an embarassment to our club than the 3 generations of my family who have been loyal through thick and thin. Long may it continue.

Ha'way the lads

 

Completely agree, good post and this is from a mag

 

Idiots like chris will never know pride like I have, as my 2 year old daughter wears her first Sunderland shirt and runs around like a drug fuelled loon. I live near Nottingham and don't get to home games and only get to 2 or 3 away games per season. Family, finances and work commitments in that order prevent me from 100% attendance at games. Does this make me less of a fan than those with a season ticket? I don't think it does. I'm not there in person but as I watch every game on live streams I'm with the lads in spirit. I'm surrounded by forest and rams fans all day long but I wear my shirt with pride because SAFC is in my blood.

I am a Sunderland fan, I live in the Midlands and no one will ever tell me that I am not a true fan.

 

you can only do what you can mate theres a lot of fans like you who live away from the area well done to you and them for doing thier best to support the lads

 

Vauxsamson - on a different topic vaux were one hell of a brewery it is a real shame it closed - a black day for Sunderland - double maxim was a million times better than that broon ale crap

 

Yeah a sad day indeed. I was living at home when it closed so me and me dad paid a trip to see it on the last day he was gutted (like most in Sunderland), it was my dad's favourite, managed to get him a crate of Double maxim a few years after the brewery closed and he was like a pig in ****, never seen him so happy. Me I'm a Jack Daniels drinker so I guess I'll be ok for supplies till I die

 

I left Sunderland in 1977 as a 16 year old to join the Army. Since then I've been an exile living in Germany, the Oxford area and now north Nottinghamshire. I'm where I am now for work and personal reasons - but Sunderland will always be "Home".

I recall seeing somewhere that SAFC have one of the largest exile or travelling support in England - and that wouldn't surprise me given what I see on the A1 on a regular basis ! The place I live in now has a large ex-pat population from the north east due to the pit that was here. Sunderland - and yes NUFC - shirts are as common here as Forest, County, Wednesday or any other come to that.

The guy in question probably doesn't know what it's like to be an "exile" - I recall one Boxing Day home game where the announcer wished everyone a Merry Xmas - "And if you're an exile - welcome home" - I'm not ashamed to admit a big lump in my throat and feeling quite emotionnal when he said it !

I read the Echo online, talk to relatives a lot, get home and to as many games as I can (or afford) - and no misguided muppet is going to tell me that I'm any less a Mackem than someone who shops in the Bridges, walks the streets of Hendon, Ryhope, Silksworth, Pennywell or Southwick, and gets to every home game !

 

end of the day if you loved our great club you would not move away, its sad but its a fact

 

^^^ Scum.

 

Don't even give him a nibble people

 

At the end of the day, half the people who moved away did so because of local unemployment. For as long as they stayed in Sunderland, their dole money wouldn't have benefitted the club anyway. They couldn't have afforded to even look at the SoL, much less get into it.