Manchester United at Wembley? It had to be. Nearly 24 years after facing Sir Alex Ferguson's treble winners in their last final, Newcastle United will go toe-to-toe with the Red Devils under the arch once more as Eddie Howe's side finally look to end the club's trophy drought in the Carabao Cup showpiece.
This is a different era, a different Wembley and a different competition but there is one constant from that FA Cup final: those fans who have never given up. Those same Newcastle supporters who even lined the streets to welcome their side home following that 2-0 defeat against Manchester United in 1999.
Some of the players involved that day found the prospect of a trophyless open top bus parade understandably 'embarrassing' and feared no one would even turn up. Yet the fans did. Thousands of them, in fact, as former defender Andy Griffin recalled of that journey from the Gosforth Park Hotel to Newcastle Civic Centre.
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"It was incredible," he told ChronicleLive. "It was mind-blowing. Thousands of people lined the streets and I remember just thinking, 'Imagine if we won? Would there have been more? How many fans can one club have?' This football club means more than life to a lot of those Newcastle United supporters."
Manchester United fans may have mocked the parade, and the 1998 equivalent, but if this was the welcome after a defeat, can you imagine the scenes that await Howe's team if they win on Sunday? If ever this side needed any added motivation...
In truth, Griffin never imagined that it would take this long for Newcastle to even get to another final. No one did. In that time, Newcastle have suffered some humiliating cup defeats against Oxford United, Stevenage, Peterborough and even Brentford's second string. Losses that were all too common in the Ashley era when the prospect of lifting a first trophy since 1969 was as far away as ever.
It was a far cry from reaching back-to-back FA Cup finals at the end of the previous century. These were finals Temur Ketsbaia would have given anything to have won.
"I played in other clubs and we won a cup, but the people were feeling disappointed because we didn't win the championship," he told ChronicleLive. "I just wished we could have won a cup for Newcastle over all the other trophies in the other teams that I played for because I know how important it is for the fans, for the club and for the city. Unfortunately, we didn't do it. I hope it's going to happen in this cup final. Why not?"
Why not, indeed? Newcastle are not coming up against the Manchester United of old with Schmeichel, Keane, Beckham, Scholes, Giggs et al. If anything, the gap between the sides has narrowed in the last 12 months.
Just two places separate Manchester United and Newcastle in the Premier League and Howe's side will certainly not travel to the capital in fear - even if they will be without first-choice goalkeeper Nick Pope. There is a different mindset now and Howe will be driving home how his side can impose themselves on Manchester United rather than worrying unduly about what the Red Devils could do to them.
Howe has even visualised being the man to finally bring silverware back to Tyneside, to believe it is truly possible, and Nikos Dabizas has no doubt that the drought will give the players 'extra motivation to achieve something that we couldn't'.
"Sometimes, when you want it more, it can be a disadvantage," he told ChronicleLive. "You have tonnes of weight on your shoulders, but I have faith in the coaching staff that they can turn this pressure into a positive. You sense that the fans and the city are craving silverware."
Players and staff are already aware of that long wait but rather than being burdened by it, they have embraced the chance to become heroes as Dabizas alluded to. The group have talked of doing 'something special' for several months now and Dan Burn has repeatedly reminded his team-mates that they would be 'gods' if they could end the club's wait for silverware.
Howe has also tapped into that past. In fact, before Newcastle even embarked on this cup run, Howe gave the group a talk using footage from days gone by, challenging them to create their own history, and the Newcastle boss has even gone on to invite players from Kevin Keegan's era to address the squad.
Howe spoke to Keegan before he took the job in the first place and the 45-year-old's respect for those who have gone before him and his players has only heartened former defender Warren Barton.
"It shows you the confidence that he's got in his ability," he told ChronicleLive. "Sir Bobby would do that, Kevin would do that. They would embrace what Jackie Milburn did and what Bobby Moncur did.
"For me, it's a sign of respect. It's Alan Shearer, it's Les Ferdinand, it's David Ginola, it's Rob Lee, it's Gary Speed, it's Shay Given - and I was lucky enough to play in that era with them. Eddie has grown into being manager of Newcastle and he's embraced that. You should embrace it because they were wonderful times."
There might be some even better times to come yet.
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