SkyDaz Banter: Pre-Southampton

Anyone who saw the Christmas episodes of ‘The Office’ will understand what I mean when I say that my celebrity status is on a par with David Brent’s. The Blues fans that have recognised me and spoken to me have been tremendous and very supportive and I would like to take this opportunity now of thanking both of you. The smallest picture in the world at the top of the page does little to enhance my standing on the world stage. My Monday Night Sky appearances have, in truth, only led to the predictable comments regarding ‘a face for radio’. Perhaps if I hadn’t yawned so much I may have laughed. Families can be cruel at times.

The Sky Sports Fanzone is definitely hit or miss. Some fans love it and some hate it. Friends of mine who are Blues fans have confessed that when it comes to live Birmingham matches they are too tense to listen to my irrelevance and prefer the neutrality of someone like Martin Tyler. The will has been adjusted accordingly. I force them to watch a recording of the show later; no one escapes that easily.

According to the figures verified by the amount of emails and texts that are received during the show, more and more people are listening to the Fanzone commentary. The interactive element of watching the game has proved extremely popular although at times the sheer volume of information can be overwhelming. I tend to press the red button for the start of the game and find out who is commentating and listen to them for the first ten or fifteen minutes to gauge the amount of potential entertainment.

Sometimes the whole idea of Fanzone falls flat even when it looks a cast iron certainty to be a raging success. I watched Chelsea v Manchester United a few weeks ago and the two rival commentators struggled to find anything to talk about and became so dull that I hit the exit button.

I am aware that when I commentate there are people listening who instantly turn over, for example, my girlfriend, my parents, my children, etc. It is all a question of taste and preference.

The idea of having two passionate rival fans sitting next to each other and talking about the game as if they are sitting in a pub is phenomenal and having them broadcast live without delay is very brave. The selection process is not onerous but, as stated above regarding the Chelsea game, people can sound great in an application but, when the game kicks off and the heat is on to provide ninety minutes of entertainment, it’s a whole new ball game.

My next Fanzone appearance is scheduled to be the Chelsea game on Sunday 18^th January. After that I am opening a fete in Lower Piddle and appearing on a Z List edition of Blind Date along with Bubble from Big Brother and Howard from the Halifax advert at the Blue Oyster Bar, Brighton!

Article reproduced with kind permission of the BCFC official matchday programme.