Anne Cain

As a non football supporter, originally from Sunderland, now living in California since 1981, but having revisited my home town at least once, sometimes twice, a year since then, I would like to suggest to American viewers of this series that it is only one aspect of life in Sunderland. Yes, football IS a big part of the lives of many of Sunderland's residents. Yes, there are a sufficient number of crass, beer-swilling, foul-mouthed thugs,who consider themselves the only "true fans", ( bemoaning their poverty and lack of work whilst still able to shell out hundreds of pounds for IPhones, season tickets and obscenely-priced supporter strips!) to make them a legitimate part of the picture. However, though it makes for good television, it would be an insult to the majority of sensible, hard working, "Mackems", my family and friends amongst them, to overestimate the impact of the ups and downs of the city's football team on actual everyday life. Most residents would, I think, describe themselves as happy - even elated! - when the team wins, and they are very disappointed when it loses, but they would probably advise a fan for whom relegation to the championship league caused total devastation to "get a life"!