Some 300 miles north of Wembley, the last man to wear the No 9 for Newcastle United in a League Cup final is roared on to the stage.
‘It’s like being back playing,’ beams 1976 runner-up Malcolm Macdonald after he is greeted to the sort of reception the club’s current frontman Callum Wilson could expect running out at St James’ Park.
Kick-off is still 90 minutes away but NX Newcastle – the music venue hosting the biggest screening of the match – is already at its 1,500 capacity.
From as early as midday, there is a party mood throughout the city centre, which is heaving with those black-and-white revellers who were not among the 50,000-plus Geordies to make the pilgrimage to London.