Carl's blind faith in red and whites and green and whites (From The Northern Echo)

Carl's blind faith in red and whites and green and whites

6:00pm Monday 20th February 2012 in Stanley News Exclusive By Mark Summers

FOOTBALL mad Carl McGee had a busy weekend following his two favourite clubs.

First there was Sunderland’s 2-0 FA Cup fifth round victory over Arsenal at the Stadium of Light on Saturday evening.

Then it was up to Edinburgh the following day for a disappointing result as Hibernian suffered a 5-0 drubbing by Celtic.

And tonight (Wednesday February 22) 24-year-old Carl will again be at Hibernian’s Scottish Premier League clash at Motherwell.

But wherever he goes, Carl will rely on radio or in-ground commentary to follow the action on the pitch.

Blind since birth, Carl, from near Stanley, County Durham, is determined to be independent, following his teams home and away.

"I decide atmosphere-wise what will be the better game to go to,’’ he says.

"For me, it’s the atmosphere. I take my radio and listen to the commentary.

"I can’t see what’s going on but I pick up on the atmosphere.’’ Carl, who lives at home with his parents, has been following Sunderland since 1997.

He goes to the Stadium of Light with his mother Diane and travels to away matches with the Chester-le-Street branch of the supporters association.

His passion for Hibs developed while he was at the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh and he is now well-known at the Easter Road stadium.

He travels up alone by train, meets friends and walks with his white stick to the ground. He gets on the supporters’ coach from Edinburgh to away games.

"I don’t have any problems getting through with the stick because the crowds normally move out of the way because they know that if they don’t they’ll end up with a whack! "he quipped.

"Its nerve-wracking sometimes, but you’ve just got to get on with it."

Carl, who is a leading light in the Durham Visually Impaired Cricket Club, regularly features on football radio phone-ins. is writing for a new Sunderland fanzine, and is the subject of a short film on You Tube.

He says: "Following football’s is important to me, it’s better than just staying in the house all the time.’’