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Boro thread

gatopreto said:
It's a derby game for fans in the likes of bishop Auckland and blackhall colliery where they interact with Boro fans. But if you are from Gateshead, Washington, south Shields, Northumberland, where exactly do you meet Boro fans? For me it's the fans that make derby games.
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What if you live down here & your entire family are staunch mackems & everyone else you kna are smoggy
 

Greengroft said:
To me losing to Boro ,is just like getting best of West Brom.
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I sort of see what you mean. Someone living in the middle of Sunderland that has spent their life on the dole might not ever realise when they meet the odd Boro fan, and therefore not think of it as a derby.

On the other hand, someone that came from around Sunderland but worked around Teesside, or even someone that worked at somewhere like Sunderland Royal (which I bet has a fair few Boro fans working there) would consider it a derby.

And I wouldn't be surprised if there are more Sunderland and more Boro supporters in Hartlepool than neutral Hartlepool supporters, so it is probably an important derby to that section of SAFC support.
 
gatopreto said:
It's a derby game for fans in the likes of bishop Auckland and blackhall colliery where they interact with Boro fans. But if you are from Gateshead, Washington, south Shields, Northumberland, where exactly do you meet Boro fans? For me it's the fans that make derby games.
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I'm from Gateshead. I don't know any Boro fans but I did go down in the 70s and 80s and saw street battles amongst the fans. The atmosphere at the home games such as the 2-2 in the prem years, the 'Jamie Pollock ugly bastard chants, the fact that our fans to their shame would use the Clevelend child abuse allegations against them. Our fans 'bothering' to infiltrate the Holgate. They were nasty and hostile games because of the locality and even now we sell more tickets for the Boro game than others but still some try to argue 'its no different to West Brom. Its laughable man.
 
super ally said:
I sort of see what you mean. Someone living in the middle of Sunderland that has spent their life on the dole might not ever realise when they meet the odd Boro fan, and therefore not think of it as a derby.

On the other hand, someone that came from around Sunderland but worked around Teesside, or even someone that worked at somewhere like Sunderland Royal (which I bet has a fair few Boro fans working there) would consider it a derby.

And I wouldn't be surprised if there are more Sunderland and more Boro supporters in Hartlepool than neutral Hartlepool supporters, so it is probably an important derby to that section of SAFC support.
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I worked at Fujitsu in the 90a with Boro fans ,it didn't bother me then
when we lost to them them, And it was no more important when Darren Williams scored to beat them.
 
rentaghost said:
I'm from Gateshead. I don't know any Boro fans but I did go down in the 70s and 80s and saw street battles amongst the fans. The atmosphere at the home games such as the 2-2 in the prem years, the 'Jamie Pollock ugly bastard chants, the fact that our fans to their shame would use the Clevelend child abuse allegations against them. Our fans 'bothering' to infiltrate the Holgate. They were nasty and hostile games because of the locality and even now we sell more tickets for the Boro game than others but still some try to argue 'its no different to West Brom. Its laughable man.
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Exactly. I can remember being chased the length of Linthorpe rd mid eighties, then turning on them at the station. Mad times.
 
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rentaghost said:
I'm from Gateshead. I don't know any Boro fans but I did go down in the 70s and 80s and saw street battles amongst the fans. The atmosphere at the home games such as the 2-2 in the prem years, the 'Jamie Pollock ugly bastard chants, the fact that our fans to their shame would use the Clevelend child abuse allegations against them. Our fans 'bothering' to infiltrate the Holgate. They were nasty and hostile games because of the locality and even now we sell more tickets for the Boro game than others but still some try to argue 'its no different to West Brom. Its laughable man.
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It isn't any different for me. I don't get the derby buzz or that excruciating feeling after a loss in a derby match. I could pretend it does but it doesn't. It has very little meaning to me.
Tbf that's these days as I've become a lot more relaxed about football.
 
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rentaghost said:
I'm from Gateshead. I don't know any Boro fans but I did go down in the 70s and 80s and saw street battles amongst the fans. The atmosphere at the home games such as the 2-2 in the prem years, the 'Jamie Pollock ugly bastard chants, the fact that our fans to their shame would use the Clevelend child abuse allegations against them. Our fans 'bothering' to infiltrate the Holgate. They were nasty and hostile games because of the locality and even now we sell more tickets for the Boro game than others but still some try to argue 'its no different to West Brom. Its laughable man.
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Likewise, experienced all of the above and you are spot on!

Watching Boro at home to Sunderland as a Boro supporter was risky but watching Boro at Sunderland was bordering on madness!

80/81 (Roker End) and 81/82 (Clock Stand Paddock) were arguably my most notable experiences ... the only thing "normal" about those two matches was that Boro won them both! ;)

Neither myself or other Boro fans I know would suggest for one minute that the Tees/Wear derby compares with the Tyne/Wear derby ... but there is still a longstanding history of rivalry that I don't think Boro or Sunderland have with any other clubs to the same extent (although Leeds could put up a reasonable counter argument, with Boro at least).
 
gatopreto said:
It's a derby game for fans in the likes of bishop Auckland and blackhall colliery where they interact with Boro fans. But if you are from Gateshead, Washington, south Shields, Northumberland, where exactly do you meet Boro fans? For me it's the fans that make derby games.
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I grew up in Penshaw , then 30 years in Washington.

Now houghton.


I grew up hating them .

Still do.

But , I’m 51 , many a visit to the carnage of ayresome park.
 
gatopreto said:
It's a derby game for fans in the likes of bishop Auckland and blackhall colliery where they interact with Boro fans. But if you are from Gateshead, Washington, south Shields, Northumberland, where exactly do you meet Boro fans? For me it's the fans that make derby games.
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Bishop and Blackhall are the south end of the world for you like? 😂
 
ERIMUS1876 said:
The more Sunderland supporters that think playing Boro is "just another game" and not a "derby",the better for me and my fellow Boro supporters.

In part I feel it explains Boro's amazing record against Sunderland. The recent 4-0 victory was the 6th time I have seen Boro win at Sunderland in my last eight visits there (also one draw and one defeat).

To put that into context, Sunderland have won at Middlesbrough four times in the last 70 years!

I'm currently co-writing a book and included it in are references to previous Tees / Wear derbies. The 1936/37 First Division encounter at Boro ended 5-5 ... described pre-match by The Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail as "the outstanding attraction is at Ayresome Park, where Middlesbrough meet Sunderland in the big north-east “derby” and post-match by the Sunday Sun as "the greatest derby of all time".

It was a derby when first played on 26th November 1887 (FA Cup), it was a derby on 17th October 1936 (mentioned above), it was a derby on 7th October 2023 and it will always be a derby in the future.

Maybe Sunderland fans underplay it due to their atrocious record against Boro or maybe its mainly down to the internet generation!

Big crowds, ridiculous kick-off times, massive police presence and trouble at matches well past the 1980s aren't normally associated with "just another game".

Anyway, hopefully the narrative will continue to grow on Wearside ... all the better for Boro!
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Its a derby for you and not for us. Its that simple
 
ERIMUS1876 said:
Maybe Sunderland fans underplay it due to their atrocious record against Boro or maybe its mainly down to the internet generation!
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No it’s because I just don’t care anymore than any other game when we lose to you nor celebrate extravagantly when beating you. It is a derby. But it’s a derby in the same way Arsenal v Crystal Palace or Brentford v Charlton is.
 
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