How Sunderland is viewed

riffraff said:
You’ve asked people from three of the nicest places in the U.K. about Sunderland? That’s as mag as can be that.
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I asked the ex-pats, who happened not to be from the NE. I did not really see the value in asking the engineer from Hendon or the QA guy from Hartlepool.
 


riffraff said:
True.
Goes both ways though as can be seen by years worth of posts on here after the ALS buses have dropped off around Spurs or WHU. Only a fool would judge a place by the streets around a football club as most were established in Victorian times and needed to be in cheap areas near their working class customers because of the obvious transport issues, plus nimbies will have existed back then. These areas have inevitably been run down ower the years and the presence of a football club won’t increase gentrification chances despite what a Levy believes.

Btw I learnt by the mid 80s to describe Sunderland to inquiring southerners as being “on the north east coast about 70 miles south of Scotland”. Deliberately leaving out any reference to Newcastle and allowing them to enquire about a beach if they wanted.
I’ve always advised London club fans going up there to drink down the beach before the match and in the town centre after the match. The ones that do always come back asking “wtf are you doing living down for?” on Monday mornings. A bunch of Millwall lads last season being the latest, they loved it up there.


Cmon the where?


Me keyboards playing up
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Don't think I have ever met anyone from Darn Sarf who even knows that we have a beach, even though they are aware we are on the coast.

We certainly need to get the message out there.
 
I do the big PR thing whenever we have visitors with work. They love staying in Seaburn cos of the beach, decent restaurants, access to Seaburn Metro. Took a group to the town a few weeks ago on a Friday night and they loved it. Decent pubs, live bands, good cheap restaurants. Was full of auld nanas in black leather like which was a bit odd.
 
Bakerlooline said:
Some good points made on here. Just to pick up on a few...

Regional bias - I’ve mentioned this on other threads before. Since I took a job on the Tyne I’ve been in many discussions and meetings that related to either regional infrastructure projects or regional tourism projects and many others regarding regional funding. Sunderland is generally poorly represented, that’s one issue. The more significant is the constant anti-Sunderland propaganda (dramatic, granted but it’s the best word for it) that comes from the mouths of very senior people within the region. Often it’s said as a joke, but it stays with people who start to believe it. These little jokes and the “banter” (f***ing hate that word) are insidious, it grows and grows until the bants become a perceived reality. How we stop this I have no idea, but it starts by not laughing and not joining in with the tossers that instigate it.

Pleasant surprises - I’ve brought loads of people to Sunderland from all over the UK, Europe and North America. The UK based people are always pleasantly surprised because their preconceived ideas are generally very negative. Those from further afield generally don’t have such preconceived ideas and therefore just think it’s a really nice place, but the shops are shit close really early.

Self-deprecation - as Mackem, Wearsiders , whatever, we have crossed a line. The self-deprecation That is preprogrammed as part of our ways and our sense of humour has become self-hating. It pains me to say it but you will find no bigger critic of Sunderland than the ordinary man or woman in the street. Just look at the threads on here, whenever the city centre is talked about or something new is announced “it’s shit”. Even the Netflix documentary, before people had seen it “it’ll be shite, not for me, wont watch that shite again”, what f***ing chance do we stand when we destroy ourselves from the inside?
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Beautiful post marra

citybythesea said:
I agree. The regional bias against Sunderland well and truly exists. It's blatant at times. Ive seen it myself and heard so many examples of it.
It's little wonder people didn't want anything to do with north east devolution deal.
Although when I post things like this I get accused of having a chip on my shoulder and being negative, by people who are probably mag posters.
People can talk down the city, but it's not without explanation.
Years of underinvestment, the city not connected directly to the east coast mainline, the lack of a decent train station, the token metro extension that doesn't go many places around wearside , the government moving civil servant jobs out the city centre, the police moving the Sunderland headquarters out of the city centre, the backtracking of the law courts building, the Vaux saga, the hollowed out city centre for business other than retail , the closure of industries, regional bias etc etc . Sunderland folk have much to be self deprecating about because we all want the city to do well but external factors are so influential in keeping the city back.
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Keeping fighting the fight mate. Dont ever let negative posters put you off. You have been bang on about this subject.
 
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Most of my pals think it’s minging despite hardly ever visiting and we are only 20mins away in South Tyneside. Having worked in Sunderland and having relatives from the Sunderland I’m often there and don’t find the town centre bad at all and have had many decent nights out there and visited some decent restaurants too.
 
Bakerlooline said:
Some good points made on here. Just to pick up on a few...

Regional bias - I’ve mentioned this on other threads before. Since I took a job on the Tyne I’ve been in many discussions and meetings that related to either regional infrastructure projects or regional tourism projects and many others regarding regional funding. Sunderland is generally poorly represented, that’s one issue. The more significant is the constant anti-Sunderland propaganda (dramatic, granted but it’s the best word for it) that comes from the mouths of very senior people within the region. Often it’s said as a joke, but it stays with people who start to believe it. These little jokes and the “banter” (f***ing hate that word) are insidious, it grows and grows until the bants become a perceived reality. How we stop this I have no idea, but it starts by not laughing and not joining in with the tossers that instigate it.

Pleasant surprises - I’ve brought loads of people to Sunderland from all over the UK, Europe and North America. The UK based people are always pleasantly surprised because their preconceived ideas are generally very negative. Those from further afield generally don’t have such preconceived ideas and therefore just think it’s a really nice place, but the shops are shit close really early.

Self-deprecation - as Mackem, Wearsiders , whatever, we have crossed a line. The self-deprecation That is preprogrammed as part of our ways and our sense of humour has become self-hating. It pains me to say it but you will find no bigger critic of Sunderland than the ordinary man or woman in the street. Just look at the threads on here, whenever the city centre is talked about or something new is announced “it’s shit”. Even the Netflix documentary, before people had seen it “it’ll be shite, not for me, wont watch that shite again”, what f***ing chance do we stand when we destroy ourselves from the inside?
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Then it’s down to those people present to call those people out on what’s not true.
Most people I know down here only know about Sunderland because of me. They hear the word on football programs but at no other time is it mentioned and let’s face it, the football bit has been a bit shit.
Even this programme on the tele is about catastrophic failure of something that means so much to many of us.
 
cornish mackem said:
Then it’s down to those people present to call those people out on what’s not true.
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I do, and suggested that others do not simply “laugh it off” anymore either.

cornish mackem said:
Even this programme on the tele is about catastrophic failure of something that means so much to many of us.
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It’s not really “about” that though is it? It’s about the club and the city and the fans. The football seems secondary.
 
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If it wasn't for my links to the football and a few remaining relatives I wouldn't bother with the place.

Nothing particularly against it mind.
 
Bakerlooline said:
I do, and suggested that others do not simply “laugh it off” anymore either.


It’s not really “about” that though is it? It’s about the club and the city and the fans. The football seems secondary.
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If it wasn’t for the football, the fans wouldn’t turn up.
I’m going to digress.........The out of hours doctors calls dropped by 50% when the skunks won when keegan was in charge. It’ has a massive impact and more than most like to admit
 
ajsafc said:
This 100%, I am so pleased i witnessed the Boom times in Sunderland From 88-to around the Millennium. :p:cool:
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The Boom times in Sunderland surely began in 1973 ish.

Every Pub was packed ... And we had alot more pubs in town than the 80s.

The streets were packed with People inbetween Pubs all over the Town centre and surrounding areas.
 

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