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.
Cries of ‘We’ve got Bruno in the middle’ reverberate around Central Station, while queues form outside the usual popular pre-match pubs, with Shearer’s at St James’ a ticket-only affair.
Over at the Strawberry, the famous pub in the shadows of the stadium, landlord Michael Hill is pacing nervously outside.
‘It’s as busy as it is on a matchday but there is just a different feeling about today,’ he says. ‘We are so close to something.’
Inside the old pub, where pictures of past players and triumphs adorn the walls, the full repertoire of chants are aired, drowning out the commentary of Tottenham’s win over Chelsea.
Cameramen from production company 72 Films Limited are in the building to capture footage for Newcastle’s forthcoming Amazon Prime documentary – another sign of the club’s return to the big time.
‘We’ve not been as excited as this for a long time,’ says lifelong Newcastle season-ticket holder Sharron McWilliams, who is with her five friends dressed in Wembley T-shirts and black-and-white football handbags in front of the Jackie Milburn statue at St James’.
‘I watched us at Wembley in 1974 and 1976, but I gave my daughter my ticket today because she was desperate to go. When I saw them all in Trafalgar Square, I was jealous, but I’m having a great day.’
Back at NX Newcastle, double pints are being downed and trays of Jagerbombs are being spilled, as the resident DJ caters for his audience with the soundtracks to their chants.
‘I predict Newcastle to win 1-0 and bring the cup home,’ closes Macdonald to another deafening cheer before the 73-year-old retires to watch the game somewhere quieter.
As the match starts, the singing stops and the nerves kick in. That is what 54 years without a major trophy does to you.
Phones are put in pockets and 1,500 eyes are glued to the big screen, but heads drop and silence descends as Manchester United score twice in six first-half minutes.
In the second half, frustration boils over as empty pints cups are hurled in disgust and a fight breaks out on the floor, with one supporter ejected by security.
From her vantage point on the balcony at NX Newcastle, Steph McShane, 36, breaks down in tears at full-time and says: ‘I shouldn’t be disappointed because we never expected to be in this position so soon after the takeover. But I am so sad. It really hurts.’
In this arena next weekend is DJ Joel Corry, whose hit songs include History. Sadly for Newcastle United and their fans, history will have to wait at least another year.