Why is it that when we look at the great Sunderland - Newcastle mix we get some fans who.. 1. Support their team and dislike the other team but get on well with their more reasonable fans in the main. 2. Others who dislike the others fans no matter who they are simply because they support the other side. 3. And some really hate everyone and anything to do with the other team. I fall into the first group, I hope.
Dunno but there's a huge difference between Newcastle fans and Sunderland haters. Same applies the other way round. Your good self Syd, for example, would be a category one. Master Simpson, lol bart, is a category three.
Number 1 for me too. 3 of my 4 sons are mags, but even if they weren't, I wouldn't go spouting some of the bile I read on here from a minority of both sets of fans. Sadly, many a good thread has been ruined on both boards when things get out of hand.
I would say master simpson is cat 4, a mix of 3 and hate 1. (can just remember a post of his i think it was on 606) I probably know or have been aqainted with or releated to 300 mags over the years, now i live in boro probably 100 boro fans, but i only know about 5 Sunderland fans lol so i am definately in the 1 cat.
It goes all the way back to Oliver Cromwell days Syd. I've read about it years ago, so I'll try and find something on Google.
Here you go....... Sunderland grew to become the largest town on Eastern England mainly through is reputation as a great coal exporting harbor, using the mouth of the River Wear to ship coal. Nearby, the City of Newcastle and its people were not too fond of this as they held a Royal Charter which restricted the shipment of coal from nearby ports including that of Sunderland. Newcastle was a wealthy and powerful town and during the civil war Newcastle became a Royalist city and the rivalry was now greater than ever. Sunderland, partly influenced by its large contingent of Scottish traders supported the Parliamentarians under Oliver Cromwell. In 1642 Sunderland received a garrison of Parliamentarians from Cromwell composed mainly of Scots. Sunderland therefore became a centre for Parliamentarian offensives against Royalist strongholds of North Eastern England like the city of Durham and Newcastle. Sunderland's stance in the Civil War only made things even bitterer between them and the Newcastle Royalists. Prior to the civil war Newcastle was the major supplier of coal to London. If Sunderland had followed Newcastle and supported the Royalist cause, the essential supply of coal to Cromwell's London would have been virtually cut off. In fairness to Sunderland, it was perhaps not surprising that its sympathies lay with the Parliamentarians rather than the Royalists, as after all it was a Royal Charter that restricted Sunderland's trade and gave Newcastle a somewhat unfair advantage in any competition between the two ports. One result of the Civil War was that Sunderland and its coal port began to rapidly expand while Newcastle, though remaining the major coal port of Britain, had permanently lost its monopolistic hold on the export of local coal. Today, the biggest rivalries occur when Newcastle play Sunderland at football!
syd as i have said before most of my family and inlaws support the mags but we all get on very very well with no problems regarding any results but thats just my family
Category 1 for me too. My extended family too is full of Mags and Smogs. There are idiots on both sides unfortunately who take it too far.
I'm category 1. I don't really mind Sunderland or what they do, apart from during the derbys and when it comes to finishing above them. That's just good old rivalry though. There are a fair few category 3 people around these forums though but they're just ****ing morons. They can sit behind a computer all safe and spout **** all day long and giggle away to themselves. I find it quite shocking when a lot of these people are actually older than most - in their 30's, 40's and even 50's. Whatever floats their boat though. I just like football.
Can't belive how many "mixed supporter" families there are...not a single mag in my entire family. Yet none of us are from the City of Sunderland...mainly from Washington and South Shields.
