I remember a few weeks ago, a (probably drunk) Man City fan went on there to blow smoke up their collective arses about how awesome Sunderland was (massive club, genuine fans, lovely people, blah blah), having watched that documentary on Netflix. They were of course receptive, but then I noticed over the next few days, several threads along the lines of "What makes Sunderland such a special and unique club" with opening posts like "We all know it, people from all over talk about Sunderland fondly with many positive things to say about the long suffering fans, we're well loved marras - but what is it that makes us such a fucking special club?". It seems like the slightest bit of praise they receive from anyone has to be magnified and blown up out of all proportion. That Man City fan probably left thinking he was their new fucking hero. He's probably got a key to the fucking city by now.
It's a desperation to be liked. And honestly, I'm not sure this exists for other clubs. I swear it's just them. Can anyone think of any other club this desperate to be loved by someone, anyone? Even North fucking Korea will do.