Or indeed the team referred to as The Toon? I have never understood it. If they were called Newcastle Town it would make sense but they're not.
I know toon means town but it doesn't make any sense. We wouldn't call ourselves Town army unless we were called Hull Town. Or am I missing something? I suppose I should expect it to be nonsensical when it comes to them.
When I was a kid, everybody would say 'I'll meet you in town', nobody ever called it the city centre, i still know loads of people who refer to the city centre as 'town'.
Yes I know, I'm talking about the football team name. They're not called Newcastle Town. Basically I don't think it makes any sense.
St James is in the heard of the city, they used to say they were 'gannin down the toon to watch Newcastle'. Hence Toon Army.
Still don't get it. The KC is near town, people say "I'm going into town tonight" and we don't sing Town army. I was hoping there was a logical answer but if thats the origin of it, it just turns out it's ****. Cheers.
Before Newcastle became a large city, it was a walled town and St James Park is within the old walled part, that probably also had a bearing.
You don't have to get it or understand it, OLM 's answer is correct. That is the reason. Incidentally my Mum in Hull still says I'm going to town.
Newcastle is north of the Tyne, Gateshead is south of the Tyne, the ground is right in the heart of old Newcastle.
Everybody calls it "town". Does anybody actually say they are going to "city centre"? As for the Toon army thing - as with most things like this in football, I imagine it just evolved organically. They say 'town' weird, the team plays in the town, they embrace it.
for me the phrase is definitely "off in town" as opposed to "going into town" and me mam always says "off on road" for "going onto hessle road"
I still say Im going to town - the point is we don't sing a song about it! Im not disputing whether people call it town centre or city centre, Im asking why their fans are referred to as it?