Even if they're fiddling the attendances they're still some of the highest in the Champ despite the dismal football and hopeless situation, and Sunderland are still certainly in the top 15-20 or so biggest clubs in the country.
If we were in a situation as shit as theirs our attendances would plummet too. In 09/10 we opened up with 36k against Reading, and if we'd slumped into a relegation battle rather than a runaway title win it'd have continued to fall.