I don’t even know what time I left Wembley after Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, it was that kind of night.Along with my son Will and daughter Chloe, we went straight from the stadium to party in Boxpark on Wembley Way and celebrate with the Newcastle players and hundreds of fans.The champagne – and beer – was flowing for everyone and it was an amazing evening, the sort you just don’t want to end. No-one wanted to go home and, for the first time, I didn’t mind waking up the next day with a hangover either.Everyone was on such a high, and I am still buzzing now from the sheer emotion of seeing Newcastle finally win a major trophy and the reaction that followed.You can see from some of the photos taken that night that, external I got my hands on goalkeeper Mark Gillespie’s winners’ medal and the team have taken the trophy home but it is the feeling that is the most special part of all of this, because it is something so many of us had not experienced before.Maybe some older people have had it in 1969 when Newcastle won the Fairs Cup but I am 54 and anyone under my age has not had a moment like this.It was something new, and it was brilliant, and it is not over yet.I am going to be on a high for a few more days because I have not finished celebrating – it is an international break so I have not got work for a few days. The party is going to continue for me – the same as it will back in Newcastle too.
My phone has been going absolutely crazy over the past few hours, but in a good way. I much prefer having people texting me to say ‘congratulations’ rather than everyone saying ‘unlucky’ which is what happened in 2023 when they lost the Carabao Cup final to Manchester United.I’d waited a long time to see Newcastle win some silverware, but I still didn’t know what to do or how I was going to react when the final whistle went against Liverpool and the game was won.I was lost in the moment, and I still didn’t know what I was doing even when I was doing it. I got that carried away, and it was fantastic.It was brilliant to be there to sample it with my family and friends, to drink in the occasion and soak up an absolutely incredible atmosphere – and enjoy the result, obviously.Whatever happens going forward, no-one can ever take that day away from me, from us or from Newcastle. When people look back at the game, they will think of the celebrations – I know I will – because this club had been starved of success for so many years.
