Manchester United and Newcastle United's League Cup celebration a message to all Yorkshire clubs

Or it would have been had they not been lucky enough to be part of an uplifting and deafening reminder of what football is all about – “It’s about glory and honour,” said winning manager Erik ten Hag. And when it comes to English football, Wembley.

The glory went to Manchester United, 2-0 winners of the League Cup final, but the passion was everywhere, long beyond full-time.

Often these days finishing in the top four is treated as a trophy. It is not. Neither is avoiding relegation.

Tucked into a full weekend programme and played in weather parky enough for Raphael Varane to be wearing gloves, some League Cup finals can be after-thoughts.

Not this year.

Newcastle United had been to the new Wembley before, but only for league matches against Tottenham Hotspur. They had not won a cup since the 1975 Texaco Trophy.

No wonder London bustled with black and white and the trains sold out long in advance. Tyneside moved to Trafalgar Square on Saturday night.

They cheered anything remotely Geordie and waved flags furiously in a wonderful pre-match display.

Eddie Howe rightly called it “exceptional” support.

The outshouted Manchester United fans twirled scarves manically. As Fat Boy Slim boomed out 10 minutes before kick-off the atmosphere was frenzied.

You needed to be made of stone not to feel a tingle down your spine.

Manchester United are more familiar with the arch but their history made six barren years enough to have them yearning silverware too.

When the classy Casemiro headed in Luke Shaw's free-kick after 33 pretty even minutes there was an explosion of joy. Scarves waved, flags flew and flares flared.

Another burst followed when the VAR gave the thumbs up.

They were just as happy six minutes later when Marcus Rashford lifted the ball over Loris Karius via Sven Botman's shins.

It inevitably dampened the mood of Magpies fans who only saw David de Gea make one save – in the 30th-minute, from Allan Saint-Maximum. Their team seem sapped.

When in added time red scarves raised in unison, Newcastle fans fluttered their flags defiantly. Most stayed beyond the whistle to let everyone know how proud they were.

Anyone who plays a part in running a Yorkshire club should have been at Wembley to take note. Or they could have been in Rotherham United’s end for last season's Football League Trophy final, or travelling down (if not back) with Huddersfield Town's fans for last year's Championship play-off decider.

It is 51 years since a White Rose team won the FA Cup.

Leeds United have been to Wembley once since it was rebuilt, losing the League One play-off final to Doncaster Rovers in 2008.

It is 10 years since a Yorkshire League Cup finalist, Phil Parkinson's remarkable Bradford City, and 2004 since the trophy sat in Middlesbrough’s cabinet. Before that it was Sheffield Wednesday in 1991.

This week Leeds and Sheffield United can reach FA Cup quarter-finals. Javi Gracia and Paul Heckingbottom will be tempted to preserve legs for big league games.

Wembley matters too – not more than being in next season’s Premier League but enough to be worth 90 minutes of midweek effort.

Both Sunday's finalists will hope it is a valuable experience on the road to bigger and better. But it was an experience in itself – the sort every fan would want their team to be part of.