It’s Tuesday morning, it has just passed 9.30am, and I’m sat on my sofa with tears in my eyes as I write this.
Looking through my photos from Sunday, I spotted a few that immediately made me fill up with pure emotion. Photos I’ll cherish for the rest of my life, show future grandkids and talk about for years to come, no matter what happens to Newcastle United.
The emotions we felt over the weekend are hard to put into words, but these pictures sum it up for me.
This is my dad. He’s 64. Before Sunday, he’d not witnessed a Newcastle United goal at Wembley, never mind a win, after several trips and ultimately so much disappointment in 1974 (3-0), 1998 (2-0), 1999 (2-0) and by my side in 2023 (2-0).
My dad has faced so many battles in life and he won’t mind me saying that he was really struggling in the build up to Sunday’s final, but if there’s one thing that lifts his mood and makes him forget about his troubles for a moment, it’s this club.
Like so many families, my dad, my brother and myself spend so much of our weeks talking about Newcastle United. Supporting the club and everything that comes with it is a way of life – our biggest passion that brings us together.
On Sunday, we shed tears of joy and one massive hug at the final whistle. We were all together on a day we didn’t think would come, and I’m so grateful as I realise not everyone has been able to share that moment.
‘It’s just a game’, some people say, but it’s so much more than that. What we felt on Sunday, wherever we were watching from, is what it’s all about.
So, thank you Eddie Howe. Thank you to the players. Thank you to the staff and to every Mag who made Wembley feel like a home game on Sunday.
Together we’ve created memories that will last forever.