Sunderland played in an all blue strip from their formation until 1884, until they adopted a red and white halved strip.
They assumed the current strip of red and white stripes in the 1887–88 season.
Their badge included a ship, the upper part of the City of Sunderland coat of arms, a black cat, and a football in front of Sunderland's red and white stripes.
In 1977 the badge was changed, but still included the ship, football and the background of red and white stripes.
This badge was used until the relocation from Roker Park to the Stadium of Light.
To coincide with the move, Sunderland released a new crest divided into four quarters; the upper right and lower left featured their traditional red and white colours, but the ship was omitted.
The upper left section features the Penshaw Monument and the lower right section shows the Wearmouth Bridge.
A colliery wheel at the top of the crest commemorates County Durham's mining history, and the land the Stadium of Light was built on, formerly the Monkwearmouth Colliery.
The crest also contains two lions, the black cats of Sunderland, and a banner displaying the club's motto, Consectatio Excellentiae, which means "In pursuit of excellence".
Sunderland held the sixth highest average home attendance out of the 20 clubs in the Premier League at the end of the 2009–10 season with an average of 40,355.
The club has many supporter groups from various countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada and Ireland.
The Sunderland fans were recorded as the loudest crowd in the 2007–08 season, following a survey carried out at every ground in the league; the highest peak volume was measured at 129.2 decibels.
The club has an official monthly subscription magazine, called the Legion of Light, which season ticket holders receive for no cost.
The club's current fanzine is A Love Supreme.
Others in the past have been It's The Hope I Can't Stand, Sex and Chocolate, Wise Men Say, and The Roker Roar (later The Wearside Roar).
Traditionally, Sunderland's main rivals are Newcastle United Tyne–Wear derby and Middlesbrough Tees-Wear derby.
The club were rivals with fellow Sunderland-based team, Sunderland Albion, in the 1880s and 1890s.
The clubs met in the FA Cup in the third qualifying round; Sunderland, however, withdrew from the competition to deny Albion a share of the gate receipts.
In the same season the clubs were drawn again in the Durham Challenge Cup; in a ploy again to prevent Albion from gaining money from the ticket sales, Sunderland proposed that the gate money be donated to charity.
Albion declined and Sunderland won the match 2–0.
Sunderland achieved their first victory over Newcastle United at home in 28 years, when they won the derby in the 2008–09 season.