The secret of eternal passion and perspective has eluded physicians and philosophers alike. Bobby Robson shed light on Saturday: his head has two talking parts. At 2-0 down 10 minutes into the second half, he said, "the back of your head says 'it's over' and the front says 'you only need one goal and then you never know'."
The front was right. Newcastle got three in the last 20 minutes, and never mind that the last two were offside.
John Gregory, his opposite number, of course did mind. Raging at the linesman, he was banished to the stand by Rob Styles after the equaliser. Having run the marathon yesterday, he may be back soon at Soho Square.
The decisions had long-term consequences. Derby must now win their last three games to stand any chance of staying up. Newcastle need only seven points from four games to be sure of making the Champions League qualifiers. They would surely be the people's choice in the battle of the Young Men's Drinking Clubs for fourth place.
Gregory, never slow to blame someone else, said: "Derby are not in the relegation zone because of one decision, but we were winning at the time and we should still have been winning. It is incredible the linesman (oddly not the one called Bone) could be so incompetent. He's made a cock-up that's cost us the game."
This may not be quite true. The force was with Newcastle after Lauren Robert's free-kick had pulled one goal back. They hit the woodwork twice.
This was a game of one half, with enough incident for two matches. The first gave no hint of drama or even that anyone cared. Derby might have been down, Newcastle already in the Caribbean.
Sylvain Distin and Robert were especially slack, Carl Cort's legs constantly in reef knots. Giorgi Kinkladze was never working class but, capable of largesse, he was a brave choice by Gregory, who dropped Fabrizio Ravanelli to the bench.
Derby scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Lee Morris made one and scored the other. Then Robert Lee and Alan Shearer collided and departed with bloodied heads, Shearer with a broken nose. Without him Newcastle were transformed, freed.
Kieron Dyer pushed up, Newcastle's second goal followed on their first, and in the 90th minute Nolberto Solano, offside again, crossed again to another offside scorer.
"Dyer was a bit flitty in the first half," said Robson. "His foot's all right but he's not top fit."
He was fit enough to unhinge Derby, ending by being the best of Shearer and Craig Bellamy in a club context and threatening to stand in for Beckham, Owen, Scholes or Gerrard for England if he is not bunged on the left.
Eventually Robson relented: "He's fresh, has a great engine and is full of pace. He's a will-o'-the-wisp and a match-winner."
But not even the front of his head would say Newcastle are 60 games from greatness.
DERBY: Oakes, Barton, Riggott, Higginbotham, Boertien, Jackson, Lee (Evatt 81), Kinkladze, Morris (Elliott 90), Christie (Ravanelli 65), Strupar. Subs Not Used: Foletti, Grenet. Booked: Riggott, Higginbotham. Goals: Christie 46, Morris 53.
NEWCASTLE: Given, Hughes, O'Brien (Bernard 66), Dabizas, Distin, Solano, Dyer, Speed, Robert, Shearer (Jenas 73), Cort (Lua-Lua 59). Subs Not Used: Harper, Elliott. Booked: Distin. Goals: Robert 73, Dyer 76, Lua-Lua 90.
Referee: R Styles (Waterlooville).
