Television mostly captures sport beautifully, but there are times when it feels completely inadequate.
Newcastle United winning their first domestic trophy since 1955 was one of those. The Carabao Cup is theirs, a first piece of domestic silverware since the FA Cup in an era long before sponsored trophies were even a glint in a young energy drink magnate’s eye.
Sure the TV coverage flicked between the players, the bench and the celebrity fans but what you really needed was a camera trained on every supporter in the stadium, several more for the crowds gathered around big screens back on Tyneside and one inside the dressing room at Berlin’s Verti Music Hall ahead of Sam Fender’s gig.
“The Tyne has come” was Sky Sport’s suitably ecstatic tagline. A stirring image, if perhaps a bit much for before the watershed. But it was a moment to go big, and that was borne out by the celebrations. Here is the best of what we saw:
Ant and Dec
No other place to start when looking to take the temperature of the Geordie nation than everyone’s favourite presenting double-act. Well, certainly ITV’s. Yes Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly were front and centre throughout Sunday’s final, although nothing summed up the unusual vibe of the occasion more than seeing the distance between the duo, usually only pictured very close together.
Even more discombobulating, if you were to take a quick detour to Google and perform an “Ant and Dec” image search now you would see hundreds of photos with the pair appearing in the same arrangement, Ant to the left of the picture, Dec to the right. They have not regularly stood the other side of each other since they were called PJ and Duncan, and yet this was the configuration for much of cup final day. Unacceptable.
In the dressing room
In a post-match interview, Eddie Howe said he would encourage his players to act unprofessionally on Sunday evening. Back in the dressing room, goalscorer Dan Burn took that instruction to heart, performing his weirdly famous dance, this time while being showered with booze.
Sean Longstaff took the more traditional approach, guzzling something gassy from the three-handled Carabao Cup itself. Or at least pouring it all down his front.
Newcastle fanzone
Back on Tynseside, a philosophical quandary for the ages. If every person from Newcastle had come to London (which has very much been the impression when moving about the city for the past 48 hours) then who is left back at home? And how many of them will claim to have been at Wembley on Sunday afternoon in the years to come?
A healthy crowd congregated in a public viewing outside the Utilita Arena. It looked pretty grey, slightly grim and very cold. At least until Dan Burn opened the scoring and the crowd marked it in traditional style: scarves swung, bodies hoiked into the air and same for the pints.
Alan Shearer
An eventful afternoon for Newcastle’s all-time leading scorer, dressed down in a beret and tasteful black-and-white scarf. There was a muted response when he was shown on the big screen at Wembley for the first time, to cheers from the Newcastle fans. The game was still goalless so Shearer only allowed a hint of a smile to cross his lips, like he was forcing himself to be polite at a below-average Gary Lineker quip on Match of the Day.
Cut to Alexander Isak’s second goal and Shearer was back on the big screen, minus his hat and plus a second scarf. There was a big fist-pumping salute to his people when shown again at the end as his name was sung with joyful abandon. That fence is going to get one hell of a creosoting tomorrow.
St James’ Park
Shortly after the final whistle the crowds began to form. There has not been such a gathering outside this stadium since Kevin Keegan had to give his sermon on the steps about selling Andy Cole. Celebrations are expected to continue long into the night, although let’s all try to be nice to the police horses.
Jason Tindall
Let’s not forget who Sunday was all about. Not Dan Burn, not Eddie Howe, not even Jimmy Nail but of course Newcastle United’s assistant manager and main character Jason Tindall.
An unexpected break with protocol meant that several other players and indeed Howe were able to lift the trophy before Tindall but he attempted to instigate the well-honed low squat, anticipation-raising delayed raise of the trophy. You know, the one the captain usually gets to do. Sensibly this was not dragged out, but nothing will be killing Tindall’s vibe for some time:
Nor Newcastle United’s:
