I grew up loving football, but at one point I fell out of love with it and in love with punk music - and it was surprisingly hard to balance those two interests! At school I suddenly felt like I had no one to talk to as they all talked about football, and no one had any idea who Johnny Rotten or Sid Vicious was. I never dressed like a punk, but I'm glad I discovered the culture as it showed me that there was a bigger world out there, and it seemed that other people were missing out because they weren't really interested in other cultures than the one they grew up in.

Nonetheless, a few years later I randomly switched on the TV and they were showing highlights from a game between Newcastle and what I remember being Wigan. I think Owen and Danny Guthrie were on the scoresheet. I immediately fell back in love with the game and with NUFC. I thought back to the Brown Ale shirt of the 90's and Shearer, Ferdinand, Ginola, etc. and got nostalgic about it. It became my team which came as a disappointment to my dad and brother who were (still are) long time Leeds supporters. We're from Denmark so we have no geographical attachment to English teams, which means that you basically pick your favourite team based on colours of the shirt, name of club, players you like, or a combination of course. Whilst researching I learned a lot more about the city and the history of the area and club which only added to my new-found affection with NUFC.

Another reason why I think I had to support Newcastle was because of all the "blasts from the pasts" that represented that team on that particular day in that particular game against Wigan in that eventually doomed season. These players were all, before I lost interest in the game, big, exciting names in football. Names that I remembered and thought highly of. Damien Duff during his Blackburn + Chelsea days, Viduka from his time at Leeds (my dad loved him), Alan Smith from Leeds who eventually was sold to Man Utd, Michael Owen who was my favourite striker growing up, Martins who had been an international talent with Inter, Geremi who had been a top player with Chelsea and Løvenkrands whom I knew well from Denmark and his time at Rangers. Barton I also remembered from his City days. These players, that I held in such high regard back then, also contributed to me gaining an interest in NUFC. Isn't it ironic how those same players ended up getting us relegated? I now strongly dislike some of them, and am indifferent about most of them. But back then I was excited about following the football again, and particularly this club, partly because of these players. Nostalgia can be a big part of football I suppose.