Page 46 - 364645 LP243221 A Love Supreme 48pp A5 Aug22

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BY ORLANDO CORSI
ALOVESUPREME
ISSUE259
AN UNLIKELY SAFC FAN
My granda moved to the North East in the 1950s from Burma in far-off South East Asia. He got married in 1960 and settled in South Shields where he started to support Sunderland. He had never been to a football match on English soil, so when his landlord took him to his first match at Roker Park, he fell in love with SAFC and continues to support the club to this day.
He worked away at sea a lot of the time but whenever he was home on leave, he was sure to be on the bus with his mates to see the match. When he moved to Wardley in Gateshead a few years later he stood loyal to Sunderland. From his favourite spot in The Roker End he fell in
love with iconic players like Jimmy Montgomery, George Herd, Jim Baxter and the legendary Charlie Hurley.
When he retired in the late 80s he got a season ticket in the Clock Stand at Roker Park. He went to a handful of matches after the Stadium of Light was built but he enjoyed the atmosphere at Roker Park and felt the ‘new ground’ wasn’t the same.
He remembers crowds upwards of 60,000 packing into the crowded terraces. Unfortunately, he was away at sea for the 1973 FA Cup Final, but the captain of his ship recorded the match for him on the ship radio and gave him the tape.
He told me about one match in particular, he can’t remember who it was against, but it must have been the early 70s, we were three or four goals down but managed to draw by the end of the match (probably thanks to the great support of the fans).
Moving to the North East must have been a big culture shock for him as he didn’t quite realise how mad we all are about football and it’s slightly different from Burma culturally!
He told me a story about a priest who would rush out of church early on a Saturday so not to miss the match.
Even now, my granda asks me or my brother for updates on the club and he has a brick on
the side of the stadium, a symbol of his loyalty to Sunderland. Writing this, I’m trying to imagine how odd it must have been for an Asian man to be going to Sunderland matches over 60 years ago.
I think this shows that Sunderland is a club for everyone no matter your background and that anyone can be a part of our wonderful fan base and stay loyal to the club. Having him being such a massive fan has influenced me to be as big a Sunderland fan in the future as I am now.