In 1996 I lived in Germany, my Wallsend born dad was in the RAF and I’d just had a summer that changed my life forever....I had discovered football!
I was 9 years old and Euro 96 was in full swing and as I was living in Germany I only had one English TV channel. It was everywhere and that's where I had my first football hero….Mr Alan Shearer
Fast forward a couple months and Sir Alan has signed for my Dad's team Newcastle United Football Club for a World record £15 million and would be making his debut at Sincil Bank, home of Lincoln City FC.
We got the ferry from Germany to Hull, then drove to my gran's house in Grimsby. We slept over then traveled to Lincoln the next day.
As we walked to the ground I can remember the sounds, the smells, the atmosphere, the banter with the fans. We were waiting for the team to come out and I waited in anticipation to see Alan Shearer. Then when the game got underway I knew Shearer would score and when he did the crowd went wild!!
I knew then that Alan Shearer would be a football legend. I may have only been 9 years old but I feel I was part of NUFC history and Alan Shearer’s history. To me it was the start of a love and a lifelong supporter of a great club.
My club.
Craig Ritchie
Newcastle United Foundation have a heritage project for fans of all ages called Toon Times.
Toon Times will culminate with a major Newcastle United exhibition at the Discovery Museum, Newcastle, although in the lead up to this event Toon Times wishes to reach out to all Newcastle United fans across the North East and further afield to get involved and share their memories, experiences, photos and memorabilia what people have collected over the years.
We are supporting the project by helping to collect NUFC memories online - fans can share their memories on the Replay Football website, simply select the Toon Times tag when submitting yours.
For more info contact the Toon Times Heritage Project Coordinator, Newcastle United Foundation, gavin.ferry@nufc.co.uk
Memory added on October 7, 2013
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