Curious Yank 0 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Hello Magpies. I'm new to the board, so be gentle. But I come with questions. First off, I'm an American history student in Los Angeles (yeah, I'm a Yank), and I'm working on my senior history project. I've become a huge football fan over the last eight years or so that I'm doing part of my senior thesis on the historical precedents behind Newcastle & Sunderland's football rivalry. I'm fairly familiar with the centuries of antipathy between the two cities; I've researched the coal competition and both sides' respective roles in the English Civil War, and I know they're bitter because they think you've gotten better funding from the municipal government in recent years. But what I'm really curious about is this: how does the average Newcastle fan feel about Mackems and Sunderland in general? Do you feel like this derby is a continuation of age-old battles between your city and theirs, or is it just about football for you? More succinctly, do you hate Sunderland, or just Sunderland AFC? While I know both sides joke about the other being illiterate and having questionable hygiene, do you really see Sunderland residents and supporters as being fundamentally different from Geordies? What are the differences today? I'm curious to hear any and all perspectives. Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogmatix 0 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Hello Magpies. I'm new to the board, so be gentle. But I come with questions. First off, I'm an American history student in Los Angeles (yeah, I'm a Yank), and I'm working on my senior history project. I've become a huge football fan over the last eight years or so that I'm doing part of my senior thesis on the historical precedents behind Newcastle & Sunderland's football rivalry. I'm fairly familiar with the centuries of antipathy between the two cities; I've researched the coal competition and both sides' respective roles in the English Civil War, and I know they're bitter because they think you've gotten better funding from the municipal government in recent years. But what I'm really curious about is this: how does the average Newcastle fan feel about Mackems and Sunderland in general? Do you feel like this derby is a continuation of age-old battles between your city and theirs, or is it just about football for you? More succinctly, do you hate Sunderland, or just Sunderland AFC? While I know both sides joke about the other being illiterate and having questionable hygiene, do you really see Sunderland residents and supporters as being fundamentally different from Geordies? What are the differences today? I'm curious to hear any and all perspectives. Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Are we expected to believe this ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattM4 0 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Suspicious Baby says: "This very suspect" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Offshore Toon 0 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 (edited) In all seriouness I have very little against Sunderland. Games between the two sides are always going to be good, because the rivalry has been built up, and that adds to the spectacle. Liverpool and Tottenham. Now those are teams that I hate. Edited February 12, 2008 by Offshore Toon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peasepud 59 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Hello Magpies. Please dont do that, this aint baseball however to the sceptics, a quick IP check confirms the american bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ketsbaia 0 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Why be suspicious? What's he going to get out of it? A slight knowledge about the rivalry. Howay man. Well, i'm from a town in between the two cities called Washington, which you may or may not have been told about at school due to it's strong links with America. With it being in between the two there is a fair mix of both Newcastle and Sunderland supporters. Many of my best friends support Sunderland and any football conversation is just simple banter and nothing too serious. Over all, i'd say I just dislike the club rather than the city and the people. There isn't much difference if any at all between Newcastle and Sunderland supporters so any hatred based on football club is just petty. However, I do get the feeling that if you asked this question on a Sunderland website you'd get a lot of people saying they hate everything about us. There does seem to be a general disdain towards us from some sections of Sunderland due to the fact Newcastle's city has had much more money pumped into it over the years, they believe the media is biased towards us and our 'success' as a football club since the advent of the Premiership. If Stevie answers you questions, just ignore him ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob W 0 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 I just remember standing in Roker Park and the good folk of Sunderland throwing bottles up into the roof above us so we stood in a shower of glass for most of the game and them spending a bit of time on the beach before the match so they had some nice round big stones to skim over the Newcastle fans - bounce, bounce, bounce.................. scum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manc-mag 1 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Being an outsider myself, the thing that I've noticed that I think distinguishges me from 'proper' Geordies is that I don't have the same parochial rivalry towards Sunderland and hence the derby isn't as all consuming an occasion for me. I still feel like it's one of our biggest games of the season...just not the biggest-and thats cos by and large I don't have the same pre-match build up and needle with Mackems that you need to put the match on a different level of significance. The rivalry I do feel is entirely against SAFC and isolated to a matchday. As for Sunderland the 'City' it's a complete hole and therefore I don't think rivalry or hatred comes into it-you need the other place to engender some degree of envy/insecurity for that and quite simply Sunderland the place is a completely inferior place in terms of civic pride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeazesMag 0 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 (edited) Are we expected to believe this ??? never be surprised at americans. I don't "hate" sunderland or the people, my 2 best mates are a mackem from Whickham and a mag like me, who is married to a mackem from Stanley. I just like to beat them, and I laugh at the ones who live only for beating Newcastle and are obsessed with us. Edited February 12, 2008 by LeazesMag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asprilla 96 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Again, I'm not from the area but I'm not really arsed about Sunderland. I want us to beat them but I don't hate them as people or a club. Newcastle is much nicer than Sunderland though and infinitely nicer than Middlesbrough which is possibly the skankiest place in Britain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Anyone on either side who takes the rivalry too seriously is a bit of a sad bastard imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 14013 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Most of the time i dont hate Sunderland, i pity the fools. But when they've got a better squad or if its a month surrounding a derby it could easily be described as hatred. I think it's worse for them, they really hate us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tooj 17 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Derby day is still the games I look forward to most like every season when we play them, I was so hyped before the game at the SOL when we played them earlier on this season, there's just something magic about it that can't be beaten. In my office as well I'm one of the few Toon fans and I work with a lot of Mackems so the banter is always going on which just adds to the spice of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohhh_yeah 2991 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 gary "sunderland afc" lamb came across the pond with some of his mates to watch sunderland vs. the Portland Timbers... he brought me a bunch of scarves over from different teams... but he would not bring me a TOON scarf... something about a "HATRED" for the barcodes... that damn mackem bastard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 14013 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 gary "sunderland afc" lamb came across the pond with some of his mates to watch sunderland vs. the Portland Timbers... he brought me a bunch of scarves over from different teams... but he would not bring me a TOON scarf... something about a "HATRED" for the barcodes... that damn mackem bastard I just read that first time round in an american accent and spat tea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tooj 17 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 gary "sunderland afc" lamb came across the pond with some of his mates to watch sunderland vs. the Portland Timbers... he brought me a bunch of scarves over from different teams... but he would not bring me a TOON scarf... something about a "HATRED" for the barcodes... that damn mackem bastard I just read that first time round in an american accent and spat tea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trophyshy 7084 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 I had a lot of bad experiences when I lived in Sunderland. Before then I was ambivalent, since then I think it's a city with a hugely disproportionate number of scumbags, neckenders and chavs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohhh_yeah 2991 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 http://www.readytogo.net/smb/showthread.php?t=309875 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 14013 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 I share your mild dislike for those in the barcodes up the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 14013 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 http://www.readytogo.net/smb/showthread.php?t=309875 :rolleyes: 14 PAGES LONG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tooj 17 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 I'm just glad that someone hasn't managed to unlock the potential that the Mackems have as of yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 14013 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Lots of history, needs a lot of research, but this latest hatred is media filled and fuelled.For a long time, football fans of both teams, would walk from both towns to watch each others games. Sunderland would walk to newcastle and visa versa and mix happily. My uncle and my dad used to go to both like, he was very young and my uncle quite a bit older than him. I think at the time there was just nothing else to do then go to the match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tooj 17 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Both of me grandas when they were alive, and lots of older relatives in me family said back in their day they would go all around and watch what ever team was playing, even if it was Sunderland etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 14013 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Both of me grandas when they were alive, and lots of older relatives in me family said back in their day they would go all around and watch what ever team was playing, even if it was Sunderland etc. Yeh Newcastle fans but when there was nowt else to do would go to Sunderland. They wouldn't fucking walk like that daft bugger was saying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 You'd definitely have to go back 2 or 3 generations but it was quite common for people to support one club more than the other but attend Sunderland games when Newcastle were away and vice-versa. It would have been a cheap form of entertainment back then (when there wasn’t that much else to do) and you wouldn’t have had the time or money to make the long journeys to away games. I doubt that many people walked the 20-odd mile round trip though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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