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Eddie Howe found himself on firm footing as he sounded the bell.

The Magpies manager had just set the 2023 Great North Run started to loud cheers in the centre of the city.

But he had not accounted for those Sunderland-supporting runners who were less than pleased to see him as they sped past.

"The worst abuse I've ever had," he said this week. "I got verbally attacked by 50% of the people there."

This is not an ordinary rivalry. These North East neighbours have won only one significant title between them in the past 50 years, and Sunday's game signals the first time they will meet in the top division for nearly a decade.

But hardly any fixtures bring a region to a standstill quite like the North East derby as former Sunderland manager Peter Reid knows better than most.

"These are football crackers," he said. "Put it this way, there is a little bit more needle up there."

A fixture like no other

Nikos Dabizas also knows what can happen when these forces collide.

A huge picture in the former Newcastle defender's home serves as a daily reminder.

It captures the Greek ecstatic, bare chested and among his elated team-mates, after scoring the winner in front of the away fans at the Stadium of Light in 2002.

This was a fixture that definitely made an impression on him.

"The key is the passion of the fans," he said. "It's something that goes from father to son. This tradition makes this game so unique."

So what is at the core of the fierce rivalry between two football-mad towns less than 15 miles apart?

Well, as far as a Black Cats season ticket holder is concerned, it transcends football itself.

"You can trace it to the English Civil War with Newcastle siding with the monarchy and the other side backing the parliament," he said. "It's all historical and economical tensions.

"Newcastle get the funding, Newcastle have the metropolitan status, Newcastle are the ones people always talk about when it comes to the North East. Sunderland are always overshadowed."

But it is not at all one-sided.

A former player's father was even "swarmed" by delirious Newcastle supporters after his son scored a match-winning free-kick in a 1-0 victory at the Stadium of Light in 2011.

That is how much it meant to the home fans.

"I needed a little bit of time afterwards to grasp the significance of it," the player said.

"It made my life a lot easier. I was forgiven to make the occasional mistake when playing, purely because of that goal.

"I still go up to St James' Park and you've got dads telling their kids, 'See this lad? He scored the winner against our rivals'."

A derby win can even boost the standing of an already popular figure.

A former Newcastle manager had recently delivered promotion back to the Premier League when he took charge of his first derby in 2010.

There may have only technically been three points at stake, but he quickly understood the "extra weight" of this game because people in the North East "live for their football".

He said: "There are some derbies where you are unsure why they are derbies. This one, you are.

"These are two massive clubs - not far away from each other - with their own character.

"Realistically, they are the two most important games of the season so you are aware that the last thing you want to do is to lose, particularly in your own stadium."

'The world will know the North East is back on the map'

That manager need not have worried.

His side ended up hammering Sunderland 5-1 at St James' Park in 2010, but Newcastle have only won a single derby in the Premier League since then.

In fact, The Wearside club have been victorious in six of the last seven contests in the top flight.

A former Sunderland manager masterminded half of those victories, having swiftly realised that the fixture was "much bigger" than many outsiders thought.

"Beyond family, the club is the most vital thing to the people of this city," he said.

"The passion is such that the result of the club can change the mood of the city so consider the result of the derby? You can sense it.

"They told me on the first day. 'Please stay up, but you must beat Newcastle'. I still don't know if it was more important to stay up or to beat Newcastle."

The club, like Newcastle before them, eventually succumbed to the relegation trapdoor in 2017, and spent eight years away from the top flight.

So a division divided these rivals when they last met in the domestic cup nearly two years ago.

And the difference was stark.

The combined cost of Sunderland's starting line-up that day was a tiny portion of the £40m Newcastle had invested in a single player.

The most experienced individual in the hosts' starting line-up was a clear margin ahead of others, at just 30 years of age.

"It's unlikely the fans really expected, deep down, that we were going to win that game," a former midfielder said. "But now it's changed."

In numerous ways.

Only two players are likely to be the only survivors from that 3-0 defeat in Sunday's lineup following the inspired arrivals of several new signings.

Sunderland also have a different manager, of course.

Not only has he led Sunderland to promotion - his fearless side have competed evenly against some the best teams in the top flight.

In fact, the reigning champions are the only team in the current top six to have beaten Sunderland this season, while his side are also unbeaten on their own ground.

Such an strong start to the campaign means Sunderland go into Sunday's game a point clear of Newcastle in the table.

So it is all set up to be a gripping afternoon when these rivals face off again at the Stadium of Light.

"On Sunday, the world will know the North East is relevant again with top games again," a former player added.