I grew up in Bill Quay (Gateshead) and went to Heworth Grange Comprehensive in Felling. Chris Waddle went to our school and I played footie with him every Sunday morning when he was 14 or 15.

Saw my first game vs Chelsea when I was eleven. I was at the Leazes end which cost 20 pence (1971) and I remember running on the pitch at the end of the game. In those days, it was all SuperMac, Terry Mac, John Tudor (Hallelulah) and Terry Hibbit (on the wing).

During the Keegan era (mid-80's), my Mum was a Steward for Magpie Coaches when we would take 15,000+ to away games. It was the era when we became known as the Toon Army. In 1986, I was in the Cow Shed at Huddersfield Town the day we got promoted. We drew 2-2 after coming back from 2-0 down to clinch promotion. The Toon Army filled three sides of the ground and lifted Arthur Cox on their shoulders at the end of the game.

I still get teary eyed when I think about 250,000 showing up for Jackie Milburn's funeral and yearn for us to win the league before I leave this world.

I came to the USA in 1989 and have been here ever since. I did spend a couple of years in Malaysia from 1995-1997 where I converted a lot of folks to the Toon Army. The guys that used to work for me played footie and even bought Black & White kits for their team.

In 1996, I went to Bangkok to see the Toon play Thailand and met Keegan in his hotel room before the game. He gave me two tickets and a shirt. He also told me how he managed to sign Shearer. Later that night, I was in the bar with the players and sat next to Alan Oliver. He frantically scribbled notes as I recanted my conversation with KK about Shearer.

That was the year we should have won the league. I came home for the last three games of the season and saw Newcastle win 1-0 at Leeds on Tuesday to provide some hope of still winning the title after we blew a 12 point lead. Two days later, I was at Notts Forest when we drew 1-1 and our chances were gone. My brother and I were celebrating the Beardsley goal and were removed from the stands. As we made our way down the side of the pitch towards the Toon Army, we opened our coats to expose our shirts and 8,000 geordies gave us a huge roar. Later that night we met Barry Davis in the hotel residents bar. One of my brother’s mates was playing and signing every verse of the Blaydon Races on a Grand piano in the bar, and a guy called Bulldog who was wearing a massive blond wig, had somehow managed to convince Barry Davis to put it on his head. Barry Davis was brilliant and kept saying how much he wanted us to win the league.

I went to the World Cup in Japan in 2002 with an Irish mate who I converted into a Geordie during the trip. We saw the England and Ireland first round games and ran into a couple of Geordies at one of the matches. 18 months later. I was in the UK on business and convinced my Irish mate to come over from Cork to see the Toon play at Birmingham, to show him what real support is all about. At half time, I met the two lads from Japan and they said "we remember you, you were with an Irish guy". I told them that the Irish guy was at the game with me (his first ever Toon game) and was busy taking a Jimmy Riddle. I think they thought I was having them on, but it was true!

I still frequent The Mad Dog in the Fog in San Francisco occasionally but see most of the games at home on Fox Soccer Channel these days with my three-year- old little girl. We also have a couple of Britannia Arms pubs here in San Jose that show footie every weekend.

Peter Greenland, San Jose, CA