Liverpool 4-2 Sunderland: Andoni Iraola makes winning start to life as Reds head coach - Sky Sports

If you’re reading this, it’s a given that you love sport - well, at least Sunderland AFC and football in general. I love all sports. I always have. It’s probably my Dad’s influence because, ‘back in the day’, the television was the magic box in the corner of the room. There were no mobile phones, Xboxes, PlayStations, etc., to draw us away from family viewing. Any form of ‘play’ was done outside with mates, or, if we were confined to indoors, Subbuteo or Scalextric. Photo by Haywood Magee/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesSo my Dad would watch all sorts of sport on television, including rugby league and union, cricket, athletics, golf, horse racing, snooker, boxing and even crown green bowls! For those of a similar age, this meant we grew up being fans of Sportsnight with Coleman, Floodlit Rugby League, Pot Black, Big Break, Test Match Special, Grandstand and, of course, Match of the Day. I’ve continued to follow many sports throughout my life, even branching out to those that got very little coverage on TV. In my late teens and early twenties, I discovered Speedway and was a regular at Brough Park to watch Newcastle Diamonds with Ivan Mauger or Kenny Carter.