Name Shaun Nicholson, DOB 22nd June 1967, born at St Mary’s Maternity Hospital, Jesmond, well within earshot of the City bells so therefore a true Geordie. Brought up in Cramlington and lived in that little town (although not so little anymore) until May 1999 when I left England for the USA. Played footie at various levels until I badly broke my shoulder at around 22 or 23 years old. I was never brilliant but I was very fast and tricky and scored a lot of goals for all the teams I played for. I started playing again when I got to the USA and still play now in an over 35’s pick-up league in MD. I just can’t get football or the Toon out of my blood. The first thing I do in the morning is go to nufc.com and then sportinglife.com to get the latest news. I watch SkySports News every night on FSC. I listen to every Toon game live on the Internet, unless its on TV. I drop everything for the lads – as I believe a true fan should.
 
I first started supporting Newcastle when I got my first strip at the tender age of two - or so I’m told by my father as I can’t remember it. I had a great grandfather who was a Scumderland fan (he was also blind: no seriously, he was, and that probably explains a lot). He tried to get me to follow the scum but I stuck with my dad and the rest of my family and followed the Toon. One day my dad took me to my first live match.  It was Malcolm MacDonald’s debut against Liverpool. Well as you can imagine, I was hooked.
 
I never had the opportunity to go back to St James’ Park until much later in life with my mate Hoggy. It was the season before Keegan joined as a player, and we used to go to the Gallowgate end. We would get there hours before kick off and just soak up the atmosphere. We were 13 or 14 years old at the time.  The big stars were Imre Varadi, Mick Martin and John Trewick. The next season we ended up getting season tickets in the center paddock, and used to hang out where the players came out right at the tunnel and behind the away dugout.  It was all standing only, so we got there even earlier to see the players come out to warm up. I have a great autograph book from back then. One of my claims to fame was being one of the first supporters to reach Keegan after he scored his first goal for the Toon against QPR. At least, that’s how I remember it. Hoggy  would probably tell it differently. He couldn’t run on the field as we went with his blind uncle who also had a season ticket. We used to give Hoggy’s Uncle Richie commentary throughout the game. He loved the atmosphere at the ground and we were allowed to go as we had an adult with us. (This was during the football hooligan days). I think I went to every home and away game that season and for a number of seasons after that too. I worked three paper rounds and a milk round to pay for my addiction.
 
Once you have gone through something like McDonald’s hat trick or Keegan, Waddle and Beardsley on the same team, that’s it - you don’t ever think it could get any better. But it did. Seeing Ferdinand, Ginola, Asprilla, and, of course, Shearer, all together, was nothing short of breathtaking. I wish I could have been there to see all of Shearer’s ten years.  But alas things conspire to change the path you’re on, and change happens. Seeing Keegan as a manager and the footie we played back then was fantastic. After Keegan left, the football went downhill and it became a lot easier to move on. And so I did.
 
In 1993 I married Julie Orrick. Some may know her father, Tommy Orrick, who played for North Shields when they won the FA Amateur Cup. She too is Toon daft.  We have two kids, Joe Keegan Nicholson who was born in 2003 and Amy Keegan Nicholson who was born in 2001 - both born in the USA.  I currently live in Calvert County, in Maryland.  I am a Network Engineer working for a very large well-known networking hardware company.  I have the coveted CCIE certification, which probably means nowt to most of you, but still it’s something I’m very proud of.
 
Would love to go back to St James some day for a match. Both my wife and I were season ticket holders and hung onto the tickets right until four years ago when the kids came along and we finally gave them up (the tickets, not the kids!). My first return visit after coming to the USA was within a few weeks of the Cup Final.  What a disappointment that was.
 
I love the Toon and I’m not sure if one day I will return for good or not. I left Newcastle for many a reason but mainly the whole European thing and the right to be English. Yes, it’s a very long story. I hate all things Euro. I believe the English national anthem should be Land of Hope and Glory and it should be played before every England international football game. And if you want to fly the Cross of St George in your back garden you should be allowed too. I also say what I mean, call a spade a spade, and I am proud to be politically incorrect. So you can easily see that I stand out like a sore thumb in the USA.

That’s me, a right upstart.