How Sunderland is viewed

Le Chuck said:
They're obviously not football fans.
Ive been to various places in Europe & locals have asked me where im from. As soon as I mention Sunderland they talk about the football team & generally know about how we've done.
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Probably not, no.
 


Sidewinder2 said:
Hate to say it of my home city, but we are viewed as Newcastles scruffier uglier little brother.

How many people from around the country given a choice of a night out in either would choose Sunderland ?
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Thats no different to anywhere else in the country.

See Brum/Wolves
Liverpool/Birkenhead
Leeds/Wakefield
Sheffield/Rotherham
Etc

I had a night out down Liverpool a couple of years back and the main drinking area I found a lot of the bars scruffy & a bit iffy. I'd rather be in Sunderland.
 
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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I'm bringing a few Pompey fans up for a long weekend in April. I've told them if they're staying (or thinking of it) in Newcastle they can make their own plans for the weekend and I won't be joining them.

Le Chuck said:
They're obviously not football fans.
Ive been to various places in Europe & locals have asked me where im from. As soon as I mention Sunderland they talk about the football team & generally know about how we've done.
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Most of the random people I meet are the sporting types tbf, which is probably why they know where Sunderland is.
 
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Titus said:
Down south when anybody asks where I'm from they often reply "That's near Newcastle, isn't it?" or "What league are you in now?". When I've taken people to visit they've been pleasantly surprised.
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I’ve been down south a good few years now and the most common question I’ve had by far is ‘Which part of the North East are you from?’.
Often followed by a jokey statement about how they don’t want to guess at Sunderland or Newcastle as they know they’d cause offence if they got the wrong one.

Those that have been to Sunderland in the past are generally positive about it.
 
My mates from Whitburn refuse to come to into Sunderland for a drink over Christmas when we’re all home because of how rough it is.

Now I don’t like the town much but it’s safe to say they’re a bunch of f***ing idiots. They have never actually been to Sunderland for a drink before.
 
Sidewinder2 said:
Hate to say it of my home city, but we are viewed as Newcastles scruffier uglier little brother.

How many people from around the country given a choice of a night out in either would choose Sunderland ?
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How many people go on the piss in Southport over Liverpool? Comparing us to Newcastle is ridiculous though. It should be compared to other major cities like Liverpool, Manchester etc.
 
Its Him Again said:
I can't understand the hatred by a lot of people from Durham and Tyneside people. I think if they support Newcastle they automatically hate anything to do with Sunderland.
Weird bunch
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I was on a course once and this sanddancing mag was pathetic. Hated owt to do with Sunderland and was fuming because his wife would have to give birth to their next child in Sunderland General :lol:
 
Le Chuck said:
They're obviously not football fans.
Ive been to various places in Europe & locals have asked me where im from. As soon as I mention Sunderland they talk about the football team & generally know about how we've done.
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This. Not just Europe in my experience either. When I worked in Costa Rica and South Korea plenty of people knew who we were and the shit we were in.
 
Dave Herbal said:
I have an annual meet up with friends every December, and this year we decided to do it in Sunderland, rather than the usual Newcastle. One lass from Shields (of all places) twisted like fuck about it, saying that the town was both “rough” and “minging”, despite having never drank there for years. I took them round the fire station area and everyone seemed pleasantly surprised how civilised it was.
Last week we were discussing the next work do and I said we’ve never been to Sunderland. Both the lasses I was talking to raised their eyebrows and said “but it’s rough as fuck isn’t it?” (This from resisdents of Consett. CONSETT!) then went on to explain how one of their boyfriends had a night out here and “got filled in in the first pub”. Now considering Consett is the most violent place I’ve ever been out in, and I see virtually no trouble in Sunderland, where has this reputation come from? Is this really how people view us?
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People just like to be dramatic.
 
Qwerty said:
Drank a lot in Consett in the 80s, early 90s. Was always chockablock, Botto's nightclub was something else.
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Well its never changed- its like visiting an episode of " life on Mars "- people still in burgundy leather box jackets and driving the car they bought with their redundancy from the steel works ! Good laugh though and very cheap night out. I will be out there some time next week.
 
Sidewinder2 said:
Hate to say it of my home city, but we are viewed as Newcastles scruffier uglier little brother.

How many people from around the country given a choice of a night out in either would choose Sunderland ?
Click to expand...
We aren't Newcastle so why make a connection or comparison .Id say the Sunderland chip on shoulder gang make that comparison the most .Newcastle is a great night out,better than Glasgow according to a glaswegian i took over recently .When she's next down we'll do Sunderland and i'm sure she'll enjoy it .The only geordies i heard that weekend were the metro announcers .
 
I would think people view Sunderland the same as they would view any similar small city or large town in England. Probably never been and might never have a reason to go .
Indoor shopping area with same chains of shops , coffee bars and fast food. Similar pub chains.
Probably no real opinion at all.

Those that come from outside the area for a gig at the SoL or a match , to visit the Uni or relatives etc probably have a nice time with the beach and other attractions.
It's not just all about the pubs in the centre and how it compares to Newcastle.
Things are slowly getting better around the place , I'm sure of that.
 
Of you want another perception of north east towns, all my footy mates down here hate people from Newcastle. Think they are a bunch of tedious tossers who think the football world revolves around them even though they've been utter shite for decades. On the other other hand they think Sunderland fans are a bit more laid back and easy going.
 

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