Shoot! Harumph. I won’t be too disparaging about it as I’m trying to sell my 1970-71 issues but it’s a bit like relying on the Daily Record for Aberdeen history. I’ve only heard folk outwith Sunderland talk about Rokerites (such as the In Search of the Double!: Sunderland Afc 1912/13 book produced in Hull). The Sunderland Echo https://www.sunderlandecho.com/herit...lained-1886591 witters on about them being the first to use Makem or Mackem in print in the late 1980s. I worked in Peterlee (also Mackem country) in 1976 and all Sunderland supporters referred to themselves by that term then and had for generations. I agree it also refers to the population generally rather than the football team as I was surprised to be asked on a Monday morning after two nights at the local nightclub if I had enjoyed a Mackem tart and was quite unaware of this particular patisserie.
I agree with your analysis of nickname changing for the Black Cats. Although it was associated with Sunderland since the Napoleonic Wars and supposedly said moggy was a lucky charm in the 1937 FA Cup Final, the idea of having supporters vote on a nickname, as they did in 1997 is ****ery of the highest degree.

