My experience of celebration day as an autistic Newcastle United fan | OneFootball

As a Newcastle United fan, it was a day I was so very proud to be a part of.

I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make myself a part of a mass celebration.

And I was a part of a celebration with so many thousands of other people.

I feel like if I had not, I would have regretted it.

I went to Newcastle on Saturday to see the Newcastle United players, the Carabao Cup and a bus parade in the city that left St James’s Park for the Town Moor. We were all there to celebrate Newcastle United Football Club winning their first domestic trophy in 70 years.

What I saw were scenes the city of Newcastle Upon Tyne hadn’t seen in decades and may not be seen for a long time to come.

Come on now, there was no way I could be absent from that.

And yet, I could not tempt myself to go to the Town Moor.

In January, I was diagnosed with Autism, which was the culmination of a long process of self-realisation. I also have Dyspraxia and suspected ADHD. I was tempted, don’t get me wrong, to register my interest for the Town Moor event, but I saw too many barriers to attending. Barriers that I want to be clear, are the fault of nobody else. These are ones unique to me. I’m willing to bet there were hundreds, if not thousands of other Autistic people who went to the event and had a fabulous time.

When the club announced their plans for the Trophy celebration, I was almost put off from going at all. I remember the feeling I had when I read the plans. Something about the event starting in the middle of the afternoon set me back a bit. And it’s hard to think of a specific or good reason why.

But I think it was something to do with realising my usual routine was going to change. Just for a day. But a change. When I am hit with new information or specific details, I have to take some time to process how I feel about things.

And for the Trophy celebration, I knew two things were true at the same time. I knew that I really wanted to be there. And I knew that I was dreading going there.

It requires me to be not just around many many people, but complete strangers… and more than that… it completely takes me out of my regular routine.

I had to think about many things. How early am I going to get a train into Newcastle? Will we even be able to get onto a train for the sheer numbers of people? Will I get there and find that I needed to make a reservation? If I get on a train, will I get a seat?

When I’m there, how will I make my time? Will there be time to get to the Quayside and spend some time in the city and still get to the stadium to get a good view of the parade? What will I eat? Where will I go to eat? How will I occupy my time while waiting?

All of this led to an overwhelmingly cold feeling of quiet dread. Deep down I knew it was all going to be okay, but when you have the kind of brain I do, you overthink all of these things.

Once I was in Newcastle, all of that changed.

Here’s how my day actually did pan out.

I left the house at 10am and walked to Durham (with a detour or two for photography)

Popped into a cafe for a take-out cup of tea.

I got to the train station and paid for my ticket. And although I had to stand, I got to Newcastle in delightfully short order. When I got to Newcastle I could feel the energy and atmosphere in Town. It was a city in celebratory mood. I took the time to take photos and videos of anything and everything related to Newcastle.

With four hours or so before the main event was due to begin, I explored the Discovery Museum in Newcastle. I spent about two hours in there and used their cafe for another cup of tea, some lunch and a book to read. The Museum by the way is well worth a visit. History of Newcastle and exhibits there are an old childhood favourite of mine and are well worth a look

When all that was done I could wait no longer. There was no more avoiding it. I had to steel myself up for a wait. But as I was doing so I realised I didn’t need much “steeling up” at all. There was enough joy in just seeing lads and lasses out there… all with smiling faces. Young and old. Families. Couples. People in various states of inebriation.

There were scenes in the city that I will never forget. There were people packed out at St James’s Park already, standing in an orderly line. There were Vuvuzelas and hooters being sounded. People were smiling and chatting and socialising. There were match day chants going on. There were smoke bombs. There was a Sky News helicopter and police helicopter circling the town centre.

It was a celebration and it felt like it.

As for me? It was enough just to stand and take in the atmosphere and experience the joy of knowing I was part of something happy and historic. I took as little part in interacting with people as possible. It was all about standing. And waiting. And just savouring the vibe.

I’ll end by rounding up up some of my standout moments from the event:

One was seeing an exhibition of the shirt Jackie Milburn wore to win the 1955 FA Cup with the replica of the Carabao Cup winner’s trophy in 2025, that last one must have been donated and sorted out in very short order.

At the parade, I quickly found my viewing spot, which turned out to be a spot where I could piggyback on free Wifi from the Sandman Hotel, so I had enough battery and internet to keep me entertained. About an hour or so later, a couple of abseilers were pointed out. The more I looked up, the more it became clear that something good was about to happen. And it turned out that those two abseilers were working hard against the wind to unfurl a banner featuring Eddie Howe.

The sight of smoke bombs and flags, people climbing telegraph poles that they really shouldn’t have been.

When the buses arrived, I can’t quite remember if Eddie Howe on the bus was clutching the trophy… but I do remember a clenched fist and a smiling face on the bus that I won’t forget. I came to see him and the players, and I got a good look.

I’m grateful to a lady on the train home who pointed out a spare seat. I’m getting older now and I was feeling the aching bones in my legs for some time before the parade actually arrived. So… a chance to have a sit down and look at the photos I took was very gratefully received.

This was a day that gave me many challenges. Challenges of the autistic and dyspraxic kind, which presented themselves in all sorts of ways.

And while I swayed once or twice about making the journey at all, I’m so very glad I did.