Sunderland A.F.C. supporters

Sunderland A.F.C. have one of the oldest fan bases in England, starting from its creation in 1879. In 2019 it was reported that despite being in League One, Sunderland's average gates were higher than those of such teams as Lyon, Napoli, Roma, Valencia, Juventus, and Porto.[1]

There are over 70 branches of official Supporters' Clubs in England and around the world, including North America, which started in 2013;[2][3] Scotland;[4] South Africa;[5] Germany;[6] a united Danish and Irish Supporters Branch;[7] a separate Dublin supporters club;[8] Australia;[9] United Arab Emirates;[10] Switzerland;[11] and even North Korea.[12]

The club had an official quarterly magazine, called the Legion of Light, which season ticket holders received at no cost.[13] It was discontinued in January 2017. One of the club's current fanzines is A Love Supreme.[14] Others in the past have been It's The Hope I Can't Stand, It's An Easy One For Norman/It's An Easy One For Given, Sex and Chocolate, Wise Men Say and The Roker Roar (later The Wearside Roar).[15] In recent years, blogging sites such as Roker Report have been popular.[16]

Demographics

Support is drawn from across the North East, in particular County Durham,[17] and beyond. The club has many supporter branches across the world, including the United States, Australia, Canada, Cambodia, and Greece.[18]

Sunderland held the seventh highest average home attendance out of the 20 clubs in the Premier League at the end of the 2013–14 season with an average of 41,089,[19] and held the sixth highest average attendance in the 2014–15 season with an average of over 43,000.[20] Sunderland fans often sell out allocations for away games: in the 2013–14 season, 9,000[21]

Nicknames

Sunderland's official nickname is 'The Black Cats'. The previous nickname, 'The Rokerites', was made obsolete after the club left Roker Park for the Stadium of Light in 1997.[22] The new name was decided upon in a public vote in 2000.[23] Despite the nickname being made official only relatively recently, the black cat has been used as an emblem of the club throughout most of its history. Photographs exist of players holding a black cat which made Roker Park its home in the 1900s and 1910s, and which was fed and watered by the football club.[24] The club's first official badge featured a black cat sitting prominently in its centre.[25]

Politics

According to YouGov statistics, supporters of Sunderland predominantly lean to the political left,[26] and often sing "The Red Flag" during games.[27]

The appointment of Paolo Di Canio, who was accused of being a fascist,[28][29] as manager in 2013 prompted fan protests and the immediate resignation of club Vice Chairman David Miliband due to Di Canio's "past political statements".[30] It also met opposition from the Durham Miners' Association,[28] which threatened to remove one of its mining banners from Sunderland's Stadium of Light, which is built on the former site of the Wearmouth Colliery, as a symbol of its anger over the appointment.[31][32]

Songs

A song heard in every match is one to the chorus of "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley, with "Sunderland" being sang repeatedly after "but I can't help falling in love with you."[33] [34]

During Gus Poyet's tenure, Sunderland fans started singing "Things Can Only Get Better" by D:Ream.[35] [36] Supporters of Sunderland launched a campaign to get the song back into the chart, to coincide with their team's Capital One Cup Final on 2 March 2014 at Wembley Stadium. On 3 March 2014, the song re entered in the UK Dance Chart at #19.[37][38][39]

Also, Sunderland supporters often sing "The Red Flag" during games.[40]

Two of the most famous chants by Sunderland supporters are "I'm Sunderland till I die..." and "We're by far the greatest team, the World has ever seen" - with the former being chosen as the title of the Netflix show Sunderland 'Til I Die.[41][42] [43] [44] One of the oldest Sunderland chants is "Ha'way the lads..." which was sang at Sunderland games as far back as the 1960s.[45]

Rivalries

Traditionally, Sunderland's main rivals are Newcastle United, with whom they contest the Tyne–Wear derby. The club shared a rivalry with the now defunct Sunderland Albion in the 1880s and 1890s, a breakaway club formed by Sunderland's founder James Allan.[46] In recent seasons the club has also developed a minor rivalry with Portsmouth, mainly stemming from the clubs meeting each other 5 times in the 18/19 season.[47] Conversely, sections of fans share a mutual friendship with Dutch club Feyenoord; this was developed after Wearside shipbuilders found jobs in Rotterdam during the 1970s and 80s.[48] The club also has good relations with Norwich City, matches between the two clubs being known as the Friendship Trophy, following good rapport in the 1985 Milk Cup final.[49]

Hooliganism
Main article: Seaburn Casuals

The most famous hooligan firm is the Seaburn Casuals, named after the Seaburn area near Roker Park stadium, even though early hooligan firms of Sunderland fans appeared as far back as the 1970s and the 1980s, like the Vauxies (named after the Vaux Breweries), who were active in the late 1970s and early 1980s.[50]

At the end of the 1999–2000 and the 2002–03 seasons, Sunderland topped the hooliganism table in the Premier League with 223 and 154 fan arrests, respectively.[51][52] According to official data released by the Football Banning Order Authority, Sunderland's fanbase was named third most dangerous in English football in 2013–14, and in particular, a group called The Sunderland Youth Firm was noted in the context of its clashes with West Ham United fans.[53]

Before the 1998 FIFA World Cup, 26 Seaburn Casuals hooligans were arrested in a police raid after a military-issue smoke bomb was let out at a local pub after a fight with bouncers. By the end of the operation, over 60 were facing charges. Some of the Seaburn Casuals hooligans picked up in the raid were also involved with neo-Nazi groups like Combat 18. The operation failed when judge ruled CCTV footage from the pub inadmissible.[50]

In March 2002, the Seaburn Casuals fought with hooligans from the Newcastle Gremlins in a pre-arranged clash near the North Shields Ferry terminal, in what was described as "some of the worst football related fighting ever witnessed in the United Kingdom".[54] The leaders of the Gremlins and Casuals were both jailed for four years for conspiracy, with 28 others jailed for various terms, based on evidence gained after police examined the messages sent by mobile phone between the gang members on the day.[55]

Notable supporters

Below is a list of well-known people who are known Sunderland supporters:

Athletes

Business

Comedians

Film

Music

Politicians

Television personalities

Writers and journalists
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gollark: What if matrix *addition*?
gollark: Deadline in 6 minutes.
gollark: I guess I could restart the phase thing and make it a phase.
gollark: Interesting idea.

See also

References
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  4. "Meet The Branches: "Och Aye!" - It's the newly formed Scottish Sunderland Supporters Branch!". Roker Report. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  5. "Meet The Branches: Say 'Sawubona' to the South African Sunderland supporters branch!". Roker Report. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
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