Fan Letters: It’s the little things that make all the difference when it comes to Sunderland AFC

Dear Roker Report,

It has been a while since I last wrote something.

I write this letter with extreme joy at the Club sending me a signed autograph to me to India. I truly appreciate the effort Mr James Wallace (Supporters Coordinator) and thank you Roker Report for mentioning me to him.

These are the things that raises the energy levels of the fan in you when things don’t go good in the field. What I want to convey is that the club should start to interact with the fans a bit more and create a sense of feel that we are one, rather than a money making business.

After all, football is a beautiful game that brought us all together coming from different continents.

Adarsh Dinesh

Ed’s Note [Damian]: It’s wonderful to see that you received an autographed card from the club. You’re absolutely right in what you say - simple acts of outreach like this can stir up so much energy amongst the fans, and serves to further personalise the relationship between us and the club. It’s a small thing really but one that clearly made you extremely happy, and that’s exactly what supporting a football club should be about.

I think the club have done a lot to engage with fans in the last year, and to improve on the way they communicate. Before the change of owners it was easy to roll your eyes at the endless stream of platitudes and half-baked slogans designed to sell a few more season tickets. Last season felt different somehow. The sense of unity seemed less artificial and more natural; coming from a place of genuineness, rather than being used as a commercial tool. Hopefully we carry that feeling into the next season.

When we began the Roker Rapport Podcast it would amaze me when I checked the analytics and discovered that we had listeners all over the globe, even when we had barely started out.

Now the Rapport has grown exponentially and again it amazes me to see listeners in India, China, Korea, all over Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, and on and on and on it goes.

It serves to highlight that in spite of our recent fall from grace Sunderland AFC is an institution that appeals to vast numbers from an endless selection of backgrounds and circumstances.

Football is a game that brings people together, and it’s easy to forget that sometimes.

Thanks for reminding me of that, Adarsh. I hope you live a happy life through the highs and lows of Sunderland fandom. Enjoy the upcoming season.

Adarsh Dinesh