By chance, Sky Sports has a visitor centre and a mock up Sky Sports studio…

Some time ago before the pandemic, I brought my two young children for a fun day at the O2 located in North Greenwich. Interestingly, we came across a Sky Sports visitor center and a replica studio of Sky Sports.

At this place, children have the chance to catch up on the latest sports news displayed on screens located on their desks. Meanwhile, they are being recorded with all the relevant information, updates on the side and breaking news through a ticker tape. Additionally, kids can dress up like their favourite sports players, perform funny dances, and even kiss badges while being filmed.

My boy was excited and got the shirt to wear during the shoot. He searched through a bunch of shirts from various Premier League teams like Liverpool, Chelsea, and Man U. He finally found the exquisite black and white striped shirt.

The girl in charge of this task looked at me surprised and commented "Nobody ever picks that one..."

Afterwards, my child performed a wacky routine and kissed a badge while standing in front of a green screen backdrop, which was broadcast onto a large Sky Sports Player of the Match screen.

I am unsure when exactly my son and daughter became fans of Newcastle United. However, what I do know is that my son faced criticism from his friends for attending matches with me during our time in the Championship.

I have a friend here in London who is originally from Nottingham and supports the football team, Nottingham Forest. He also has a son who is around the same age as my own child. We both enjoy visiting our hometowns with our families and attending football matches. For me, this means watching games at St James' Park in Newcastle, while my friend heads to the City Ground in Nottingham.

We didn't force our children to root for our own teams, and we even talked about how they might end up supporting one of the major London clubs because of where we live.

Please remember that this is a time when both Forest and Newcastle have not experienced any triumphs for a considerable period.

Luckily, they have only shown liking towards Dulwich Hamlet - a London team. We have even gone on exciting trips with Dulwich Hamlet to different places like Hemel Hempstead, Billericay, and Dorking that were enjoyable for the youthful boys.

My friend and his child are still supporting Forest and are thoroughly enjoying being in the Premier League.

About five years ago, we made plans to gather at my place and watch a game of Notts Forest versus Newcastle in the League Cup. The children kept themselves busy with the PS4 gaming system and chatted aimlessly about Drill music before the match began. Unfortunately, our team lost 3-1, and my friend who was a fan of Forest couldn't contain his excitement, especially since the game only attracted a crowd of 13,000. We accepted the loss gracefully.

The reason why I began writing was to explore the topic of which sports teams children choose to root for.

This statement came up during a chat with my dear friend who was able to secure tickets for me to attend matches outside our home ground and also helped me introduce my son to being a supporter of our football team, known as the Cockney Mags.

Thanks a lot! You know exactly who you are and how much you and your mother contributed in making a young boy into a devoted follower of Newcastle.

We are excited to head to the pub with our friends from Forest and cheer as Notts Forest is defeated on Boxing Day.