When Modibo Maiga’s shot found the back of the net, my heart stopped.  

When the referee signaled the West Ham forward offside, my heart slowly came back to a resting rate, only to accelerate like a Nissan GT when Sammy Ameobi’s ball hit the post in the 90th minute.

Whoever first coined that English Premier League supporters “live and die” by their squads did not mean it metaphorically.

As one of Newcastle United’s newest supporters, I didn’t believe this series of emotions would come to me this quickly. But certain emotions are impossible to control. And while Newcastle United settled for a scoreless draw with a squad they had easily outplayed, I spent the rest of my American Saturday wondering if any team had ever brought me this series of emotions so early in my supporting tenure.

I consider myself part of a large segment of Americans drawn to the English Premier League for the first time this year. Due to the unprecedented coverage of the EPL by NBC Sports, more and more Americans spent the past month deciding what club they wanted to invest their time, resources, and, well, emotions into.

My initial criteria for selecting an EPL club were simple: the club could not be one of the “Big Four.” In other words, any team other than United, City, Chelsea, and Arsenal were fair game. From there, it became a process of elimination. I didn’t want a team that was just promoted. Tottenham and Liverpool were too popular. I can’t stand the song “Bubbles” (sorry West Ham).

When I ran into Newcastle United, I initially was concerned. The squad was relegated following the 08-09 season. They had a new Director of Football who appeared unpopular and controversial with the locals. They were on the brink of being relegated again following the 12-13 season.

As I dug deeper, however, I fell in love with the squad. I read about the Toon Army, Newcastle’s fearlessly passionate supporters. The squad is nestled in Northeast England, an area I have always been fond of and plan to visit someday. Of course, the town, Newcastle upon Tyne, is home to Newcastle Brown Ale, which served as the clincher to my choice.

After a hopeless opening match against an unbelievable City team, where Newcastle played a man down the entire second half, my support stayed strong. I knew supporting a team outside of the Big Four was going to include its share of disappointments. That comes with the territory. Supporting a team like Newcastle seems to be similar to sitting in the passenger seat as your twelve year-old son drives on the freeway. Despite the rollercoaster of your own emotions, as long as he makes it out alive, it was a success.

After Saturday’s thrilling match, I truly cannot wait to continue the ride.