Sunderland AFC helped me be part of my family
Growing up I never really had an interest in football, most likely due to unfortunately being born in Burnley and the fans are very similar to Newcastle. Loud, arrogant, obnoxious… couple of extra fingers lol.
I was bullied a lot in primary school and one of the reasons was I was never any good at football so it really did put me off of the game. My grandad, who is no longer with us, was a HUGE Sunderland fan and was even there for the FA Cup in 1973. He was constantly trying to get me into football but it just didn’t work. He would get the Black Cats Junior colouring books mailed to his house for me which I would always colour and draw in.
My whole family besides from me is from South Shields but we all live in Burnley. This means they chose the right side (Sunderland) to support. We are quite a close family but because I’m really socially awkward and spend most of my time making music or playing video games I never had anything to talk about them with when we would go to see them; which is really frequent. I’d just awkwardly sit there whilst my mum would talk to them.
It wasn’t until I watched the ‘Sunderland Til I Die’ documentary that I realised that Sunderland AFC isn’t just a bunch of lads kicking a ball about for 90 minutes, it’s a humble culture and in some ways a lifeline for some. I started reading up about the history of the discrimination the Mackems have been under for YEARS by the Geordies.
My mate somehow convinced me to buy Fifa and I chose Sunderland as my team (I wasn’t the massive fan I am now back then) and through playing Fifa, researching the club and researching the history my interest kept growing and growing until I started to watch the games and it was the era where we were STRUGGLING.
My love and passion started growing more and more, I was going over by myself to see my family to either watch or talk about Sunderland. I’ve gone up to the SoL with them several times now and have formed some really significant bonds with them. You had to see me and my auntie when we got promoted, my vocal cords were shredded. She also buys me Sunderland shirts every birthday and Christmas lol.
I just wanted to post this because the club has really given a lot to me. It gave me a relationship with my family, it gave me a good tool to be able to talk to other people and it gave me a place. If the club can mean so much to some random quiet lad in Burnley then I can only imagine how much it means to you guys. I love the club, the people, the players… it really is a huge part of me now… so thank you!
P.S - My grandad never got to see me become a Sunderland fan as he passed when I was 12 which really cuts deep, he would’ve so over the moon. To honour him I got the exact photo of Samson that was on the cover of the colouring books tattooed on my arm. Every time I look at it I see him, my family and the club I’ve come to adore. Again… thank you