Mark Hughes will never forget it.
A fresh-faced 20-year-old, a kid from Kurri Kurri who had just burst onto the Australian Rugby League scene, sitting on the Knights bus in the car park at McDonald Jones Stadium the day before the club's first grand final appearance.
Fans were everywhere.
The town had turned up. They were right behind their team, and players knew in that moment what they needed to do in return.
"There was just this mixture of excitement and nerves, and leaving the stadium Saturday, the whole car park was full of people," Hughes recalled this week.
"I remember Chief [Knights captain Paul Harragon] standing up in the bus and making a real emotional speech, and we could see everyone banging on the bus.
"Then we slowly made our way through Wallsend, people lining the streets, drinking, waving their flags, celebrating.
"We just knew then that this was so special. This was more than a game, and we needed to bring that trophy back."
Hughes, now 49, is one of five Knights who played in both the 1997 and 2001 premiership-winning sides for the club along with eighth Immortal Andrew Johns, Bill Peden, Robbie O'Davis and Adam MacDougall.
Like the diehard Newcastle fans, Hughes and the other Knights old boys have waited a long time for this moment.
There has been highs and many lows in the past 25 years since the Knights last played in a grand final.
But the fans have stayed loyal.
And now, as the Knights eye the Sydney Roosters in Sunday night's grand final, one year on from collecting the wooden spoon, the town and whole Hunter region have turned up again.
Everywhere you look, it is red and blue. On land, in the sky, offshore.
People have gone mad for it - painting their houses, businesses, fences, cars.
Even Charlie the Chicken at Charlestown, who would seem a Roosters fan, has donned the Knights colours this week.
Hughes reckons there is no other support like it, and that is Newcastle's point of difference.
"It's been 25 years, and in that time our fans, our supporters have had their ups and downs, and they've had a lot of downs, but they've continued to show up," Hughes said.
"They've turned up to the stadium in the rain. They've supported us when we've had big changes and different things go wrong.
"So it's their time now. I'm just so happy for our fans and supporters, and I'm super happy for our team.
"Some blokes have been toiling away there for a long time. So this is their time. And some of the young blokes, these young local blokes that have come up, and what they're doing, it's special."
Fans, players, staff and old boys alike were all brought to tears last Sunday night when a 12-player Knights defied the odds to come from 14-6 down at half-time to beat NRL powerhouse Penrith 22-14 in the preliminary final.
Emotions have been high all week.
"[This week] has definitely brought up a lot of memories," Hughes said.
"I've been talking to a lot of former teammates, a bit more than usual.
"What the team and the town are doing, it's unbelievable. Once again, it's this community support that we get in Newcastle, Hunter Valley, Coalfields.
"I don't think any other club really understands it, and our players definitely understand it.
"Now they're feeling it for themselves. They've heard about it for years, about our grand final wins, and I remember saying to them earlier in the year, 'You need to feel this for yourself. You need to live this', and they're doing that now, which is awesome.
"I can't believe we're there. I think what they've done in the last month is truly amazing. There's so much belief in the team, so let's just go all the way now and finish the job off on Sunday and bring the trophy back."
Hughes, who founded the Mark Hughes Foundation with wife Kirralee and has raised tens of millions of dollars for brain cancer research and awareness after his own diagnosis in 2013, felt a sense of deja vu comparing the 1997 and 2001 Knights teams with the current crop.
He is predicting another unforgettable night on Sunday.
"We had leaders like Paul Harragon and Tony Butterfield; this group has got Tyson Frizell and Dane Gagai, and blokes that have great experience," Hughes said.
"And they've got a lot of great young fellows, and of course they've got the star in Kalyn Ponga, who's just an amazing leader and player.
"I think the recipe's right, and we've got the town behind us, so Sunday night is going to be special."
