Born just outside Newcastle, I was raised in a Soccer mad household. My Grandfather, Grandmother and Father were all season ticket holders and it was four day before my 8th birthday, March 15th 1986, that I was given a ticket and allowed to join in the match day ritual. This was the best day of my life, my first visit to St James’ Park sitting in the old west stand and watching Newcastle vs. Ipswich Town, I don’t remember too much just that it was loud, we won and I smiled all the way home with my ears ringing. Since that day I was in love with Newcastle United and I always will be. As soon as I was allowed to ride the train in to town by myself I would go through the turn stiles and stand in the Leazes end watching such great teams as Grimsby and Swindon Town, oh relegation was hard!!!. After watching the Milburn stand go up, our team start to play a little and having our seats moved out of the platinum club we stayed in the same seats until 2001, before moving in to the East stand. It was left to my brother and I to keep up the ritual of getting the first train in to town, betting on the horses and the Footy hitting the bars and then making the ground for 2.55pm.

I miss those days and I rarely get to go home to Newcastle, the family still has the tickets which we won’t ever give up. I’m sure it’s a Geordie trait but we are forever the optimists, no matter how bad we were the week before and how much we complained after the game, on the way to the game the following week we always had a chance to win, no matter who we were playing!!!

I myself left the beautiful North East of England to the warmer climate of Dallas, Texas. I am still heavily involved in the soccer scene, I run and coach soccer for a select club in Dallas and I subscribe to every channel possible to watch the games. I tried to get our clubs teams to wear Black and White stripes but I was knocked back by a board which consists of Man City, Liverpool and Arsenal fans, we ended up in Sky Blue!!

I have had wonderful days and nights at St James’ Park including, Barcelona getting the Asprilla treatment, Man United being demolished 5-0, destroying Leicester 7-0, watching the Ginola wonder goal, the Shearer Hat trick and my favorite watching Newcastle annihilate Liverpool in 45 minutes of the best soccer ever played. The players I have had the privilege to watch Waddle, Gascoigne, Keegan, Beardsley, Roeder, Ginola, Lee and my hero and the best Striker the world has ever seen Alan Shearer have all impacted me. My trips to SJP and the players who pulled on the Black and White have all given me a passion and desire not only for Newcastle United but for the whole game of soccer. The only day I miss home is when Newcastle are playing and I can’t be there to hear local hero and watch the next era of hero’s.

Mick Donnelly, Dallas, TX