Getting To Know...Chris Smith

Describe yourself in 5 words or less.

A word with eight letters.

When did you first grace Blundell Park?

August 1979. Home to Blackpool. Won 4-3.

Some players have bizarre matchday rituals/superstitions.  What are yours?

I don’t wear colours now but have a few mildly offensive t shirts stating what we do with piscine products destined for Yorkshire consumption. If we win, I’ll use said shirts until we lose. They haven’t had much of a run out lately.

What is the funniest thing you have seen/heard at a football match?

I won’t name him but a mate was doing the “Give me a G… chant and misspelled our club’s name. Mind you we’d had a few…many of the funnies are sadly unprintable.

Have you ever made a fool of yourself whilst supporting the Mariners?

Where to start? Having to be propped in my seat by a steward at Charlton after a good lunchtime in London. Seeing myself on the London sports news celebrating a third goal at another game there by vaulting several rows of seats before boogieing obscenely in front of the home fans as the commentator said “Grimsby made the points safe much to the delight of their travelling fans..” And as for the daft chants…

Which one football match is the most memorable for you, and why?

I always favoured the home game against Sheffield United in 1980 when we won the Third Division Championship but a close runner would be beating Barnsley 3-2 on Good Friday. We were struggling at the bottom of Division Two and Barnsley were going for promotion. They were two nil up at half time and we were still bouncing up and down celebrating an equaliser when we scored the winner. A fantastic atmosphere and, having had two immensely successful seasons, this was the first time I recall Town coming back from the dead. The Evening Telegraph the next day made a big deal out of the atmosphere and it was exciting enough for life to be reported in the Main Stand. I went to the next day’s game at Rotherham and the momentum from the Barnsley game got us a two all draw thus putting the kibosh on two Yorkie teams’ promotion credentials. Oh, and a great excuse to bounce up and down to the J Geils Band’s “Centrefold”. Almost as much fun as the video for you over 40s reading this. Does it get any better?

In your opinion, how could the matchday experience be improved?

We haven’t had much to cheer have we? We should have moved grounds when we were a second tier side but have missed the boat now. A bit of success wouldn’t go amiss.

What do you love most about being a Grimsby supporter?

That feeling of moral superiority at supporting a struggling team, and where an away game isn’t watching a Premier League match on telly at a mate’s house. I watched Newcastle play at Sheffield United this season and got talking to the Geordies who all wanted to shake my hand and compliment us on our support. They remembered Jim Dobbin’s goal up there which is why I was surprised they didn’t shake the rest of me. Some could name our team of the early 1980s. That made me very proud.

And conversely, what do you find most annoying about being a Grimsby supporter?

The agony. No, Seriously, the so-called Premier League “supporters” who patronise fans of smaller clubs.

If you didn't support the Mariners, how would you spend your Saturday afternoons?

I love the game and always take in a match if I can’t get to see us. If the unthinkable were to happen, I’d support AFC Grimsby.

What role do you think Supporters Trusts have in the modern game?

The game was lucky to survive the disasters of the 1980s and we need to represent the fans’ interests which were ignored for so long. Ultimately, we should look for Board representation but we need the support of locals to achieve that and it isn’t really happening. We should be the conscience of the club.

How could GTST appeal more to the GTFC supporter base?

We have some really good ideas we are working on at the moment. We are stymied by a lack of locally based fans however. Many of the Board live outside of Grimsby and to promote events locally, we need locals to support us. I think it should be what can fans do for the Trust? We are fortunate to have a chairman who financially supports the club, but conversely, it creates complacency which works against the Trust.

The FA/FL seem to 'champion' one rule each season.  If you were in charge, what rule would you champion and why?

I think that Town should be allowed to play The Joker (I thought of a sarcastic comment then) like they did in It’s a Knockout and when we score it counts double.