Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BULLY’S SPECIAL PRIZE
Smith in final of the big one & he has no intention of ‘mucking’ about like he did in his career on the farm
BULLY BOY Michael Smith began the biggest week of his life with a shock confession – his nickname comes from rolling around in cow’s muck, not the epicentre of a dartboard.
When former cattle farmhand Smith takes on
Michael van Gerwen
(right) in the PDC world championship final, he will be a buffalo soldier for underdogs.
He said: “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. 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.
“He called me a bully, and that’s how the nickname stuck. For the record, I’m 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 he walked the plank for bunking off a key exam.
He said: I’ve no regrets about skipping my final joinery exam at college to go and play darts.
“On the day of my exam, I went to play in 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 two months later, I won my first Protour event, beating Dave Chisnall 6-5 in the final. Everything changed from that moment... except the nickname.”