Bully Boy will not be cowed
Skipping the joinery exam was one of my best choices
MICHAEL SMITH began the biggest week of his life with a confession – his Bully Boy nickname comes from rolling around in cow’s muck, not the centre of a dartboard.
The former cattle farmhand will be a massive underdog when he takes on Michael van Gerwen in today’s PDC world championship final.
The shoot-out with Van Gerwen, comfortably the best player on view at Alexandra Palace over the last 27 sessions, is not the only big date in Smith’s diary
– on Saturday he gets married to long-time fiancee Dagmara.
And at the start of his big week, he took a look back to realise how far he has come.
“I used to work on a cattle farm in Littleborough and I loved it, but it was hard graft and I wouldn’t do it for a living,” Smith said. “That’s where I got my Bully Boy nickname – it was nothing to do with darts.
“When the cows gave birth, the farm owner – who used to be a bouncer at my auntie’s pub – got me to help with tagging the new-born calves. “For 35 minutes, I got slammed in cowpats and cow’s muck. They didn’t always like it and I had one on its back, my fingers in its nose, legs in the air. The farmer called me a bully, and that’s how the nickname stuck.
“For the record, I am not a bully or an aggressive person by nature – far from it – but when I needed a nickname, that’s what came to mind.” Although he never fancied chasing tractors for a day job, it looked as if Smith would become a joiner – until that idea came to an end when he bunked off a key exam.
“When you come from St Helens, rugby league is the only game in town. I played rugby as a teenager, but broke my hip going to school and I couldn’t do it any more,” he said. “I’m not glad I got injured, but the darts are coming on now.
“And I have no regrets about skipping my final joinery exam at college to go and play darts.
“On the day of my exam, I went to a PDC floor event instead. I got beat 6-0 in the first round by Phil Taylor. The next day I lost 6-2 against Andy Hamilton and I thought I’d thrown my life away.
“But I just wanted to play darts and skipping the exam was one of the best choices I ever made.
“My parents worked about six jobs to send me to tournaments all over the country, but I nearly blew it on Christmas Eve 2009.
I went out for a few drinks with the lads, slipped on the ice walking home and broke both my wrists. I was in a cast for four months. But two months later, I came back and won my first ProTour event, beating Dave Chisnall 6-5 in the final.
“Everything changed from that moment – except the nickname.”
At Smith’s only previous meeting with Van Gerwen in a showpiece final, the Dutchman was in unplayable form at the Premier League play-off last May, winning 11-4 with an immense 112.37 average.
Van Gerwen has averaged 100plus in his last 18 consecutive appearances on the Ally Pally stage, and with good reason the bookies make him 4-1 on to complete a triple crown.
Van Gerwen is hoping to win his third title and, after missing out on the final 12 months ago, he has put in the hours to make sure he lifts the Sid Waddell trophy.
“I have a phenomenal record against Michael and I’m looking forward to playing him,” said Van Gerwen.
“This means the world to me. I’m working my socks off every week, week after week. “I do a lot to come to the stage and I’m really glad I’m in the final. The work is not done yet – I have to do more.”