And how we wept and wept and wept.
As Sam Fender's anthemic song Seventeen Going Under was belted out over the PA system and 30,000 Geordies sung along in unison, the words couldn't have been more apt. Grown men in floods of tears. I'm not ashamed to say I was one of them.
Call it relief, call it happiness, call it silly. Whatever it was, they just didn't stop. What started as damp eyes turned into a tsunami of salty tears streaming down my cheeks.
When referee John Brooks sounded the final whistle to confirm that finally, incredibly, 70 years of hurt was over and United were 2025 Carabao Cup winners, a huge tidal wave of celebration and emotion swept around one half of Wembley stadium. Not since 1955 had a Newcastle side triumphed at the famous old ground.
Some in the crowd had been there in 1974 and 1976 for cup final defeats. Many more had been there three times in the 1990s and again for a semi-final at the turn of the Millennium. That was the only goal I had seen Newcastle score in five visits until Dan Burn's monstrous header just before half time.
This isn't how Newcastle do Wembley. The exhilaration was intense, limbs all over the place. Hugging and kissing people you've never met before in your life. This is what football does to you.
Composure regained at half time but with also a sense of disbelief. I caught the eye of the guy sat behind me at half-time. A puff out of the cheeks and a raised eyebrow. This was unchartered territory. Not just a goal, but the first time they'd taken the lead. "What are we supposed to do now?" he asked.
Savour it. Drink it in. But also, say a little prayer too.
At 2-0 inside an hour, it was too good to be true but still there was the worry of throwing it away. You couldn't fully enjoy the moment, sick with the knowledge that this is Newcastle United, a club that has a rich history of disappointing fans just when you think they are going to claim glory.
Then came the moment. Kieran Trippier's lofted ball to Harvey Barnes, a cushioned volley into Alexander Isak and a gaping goal. It happened so quick and yet in slow motion at the same time and when his effort was saved, my heart sank. That was the cup. We still need that third goal. All the positivity of the first hour turned to mush in my negative, scarred mind.
The huge clock on the giant scoreboard ticked down excruciatingly slow. Every second felt like a minute, every minute felt like a day! Just get to 80 and we'll be OK. Get to 85 and we'll be fine.
Eight minutes of injury time was expected and the officials didn't let us down. Then came the sucker punch as Federico Chiesa slid the ball home to send stomachs sinking, until the linesman's offside flag resulted in a cheer almost as loud as anything else that afternoon.
The VAR check seemed to go on for five minutes. I've still no idea how long it took but like many, I couldn't watch. The announcement by the referee was then met with confusion, some fans thinking he'd said 'offside' when in fact the goal had been given.
Five more minutes to play and we barely watched a second of it. The poor bloke in front of me was sat on his seat, head in his hands for the entirety. I went for a lucky toilet break, part through superstition and part through nerves. "Don't leave me, dad," my 21-year-old cried. It had to be done though.
It worked. Back in time to see Newcastle expertly play out the remainder of the game, deep in Liverpool's territory for a lot of it. Joelinton smashing into tackles, Nick Pope sweeping up, Callum Wilson running the channels.
And then it came. I didn't hear the whistle, instead being guided by the sight of players in black and white sinking to their knees. It was over.
The emotion just cascaded out. I grabbed my son and pulled him close, and we both sobbed uncontrollably for a about three minutes, just holding each other and shaking. A father and son moment that neither of us will ever forget.
I was fortunate enough to be in a position where I could have gone in the Press box for this game. I'm glad I didn't. To experience this with your best pal is among the greatest things of my life.
The tears came again when Bruno and Trippier hoisted the gleaming, glistening piece of silverware high into the sky. A moment many a Newcastle fan never thought they'd see. And then the on-pitch celebrations, players, coaching staff as one, pumping each other up as the party started led by the skipper, another reduced to tears.
Arm in arm with my boy and our friends, stomping, jumping, bellowing and bawling. "I don't want this to ever end," he said. "I don't want to leave."
Neither did anyone else, the players included. It was a full hour after the final whistle when they were finally dragged off the pitch. In the time between them lifting the trophy and eventually getting back to their dressing room, a host of anthems had been belted out by the fans, from Busker's Coming Home Newcastle to The Blaydon Races.
"Don't you know, pump it up, Newcastle's won the cup!"
It was a wall of noise, loud and raucous, that rocked Wembley Stadium to its foundations. “It is black and white bedlam!” Gary Neville said. “I have never felt Wembley shake."
The trip back to the hotel was surreal and nothing like I felt it would be after seeing Newcastle finally lift a cup. I'd expected to be super-charged, high on adrenaline and joy. Instead, I was drained, and so was everyone else. Almost zombie like, we piled onto trains and Tubes.
All with smiles on our faces and love in our black and white hearts.
Newcastle United Carabao Cup WINNERS 2024/25
At last, Newcastle have their hands on silverware!
After an agonising 56-year wait, the Magpies' amazing army of fans can celebrate watching their side lift a trophy after their Carabao Cup final win. And to celebrate, the Newcastle Chronicle have produced this souvenir special, marking the Wembley triumph.
It is packed full of reaction, analysis and quotes as well as amazing pictures from the day, and a centre-spread poster.
It is the perfect souvenir of an historic day for Newcastle.
Buy now and have it delivered directly to your door. Alternatively you can purchase in most supermarkets, high street retailers and independent newsagents in the North East from March 20, 2025.
