There was never one moment, a time, an incident or occurrence. No one ever sat me down, got me to one side, had a quiet word. There was no ceremony, argument or discussion. It just was. I was born in Sunderland, my family are from Sunderland, therefore the only possible outcome is – I’m Sunderland.

Now, there are countless arguments about why some people follow one team over another and although there are a few – only a few, mind you – that may hold some water, in my opinion the majority mean nothing. You can’t ‘choose’ a team, it doesn’t work that way, and life isn’t that easy or straightforward.

Your team is given to you, usually by family inheritance or place of birth. I don’t care if Liverpool were always on TV when you were a kid, or that you liked the way Eric Cantona turned his collar up or that someone gave you a set of Arsenal Top Trumps once, and you’ve always had a soft spot for them ever since. No, no, no, I’m not having it.

'Your team is given to you, usually by family inheritance or place of birth'


Where were you born? Luton? Where was your dad born? Luton? Guess what – you’re Luton. End of discussion.

(It’s funny, by the way, that the majority of these ‘fans’ seem to end up as supporters of the big clubs. I’ve yet to meet a Middlesbrough fan from Bucks, or a Hartlepool fan from Hemel Hempstead).

I know what’s coming next – "What about us, we’re not from England, so we have to choose an English team, don’t we?" Well, no, not really. By all means take an interest in the English game, and it’s nice to have a team that you look out for in other leagues, but nothing more than a cursory glance, a brief eye in their direction before getting on with the real business of supporting your home team.

Norway has a football league, right? Working divisions of its own, home and away games, three points for a win, one for a draw and nothing if you lose? So what the hell are you doing en masse in Liverpool?

Unless you’re coming in wooden boats with the intention of looting and pillaging, then you’ve no right being anywhere near the Merseyside city (and, let’s face it, this is Liverpool we’re talking about; they need little or no help whatsoever when it comes all that sort of carry on anyway!)

Don’t get me wrong, this is not some sort of jingoistic rant or xenophobic worry about foreigners or what have you; of course it’s not, it’s football, and nothing more. It’s about going with a team through thick and, in the cases of most, thin, sticking by your side for no other reason than they are your side.

Why should you get let-off by claiming allegiance to a team that win threequarters of their games and, more often than not, pick up a trophy or two along the way, when I have to support a team labelled the worst in Premier League history (but not for long. God bless you, Rams!).

And to be honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way – I love Sunderland AFC, have always loved them, know no different and feel comfortable in my red-and-white badge of birth. Even now, when my work takes me away from the city, to pastures and cultures completely new (I live in Dubai), my support hasn’t wavered, why should it?

In fact, the first two years here I still renewed my season ticket, despite being only able to make it to a handful of games, given the near 8,000 miles round trip. Luckily, I get to follow the games live on cable TV, but even when I can't – when we were a Championship side, and games weren’t shown – I didn’t start to ‘follow’ another side?

That’s just ridiculous. There’s only one team for me – SAFC – the city where I was born and where my family come from. And no one can tell me any different!