I love Grease... and I want John Travolta tattooed beside Olivia
IN his own wonderfully irreverent way, Jason Cummings has always liked to play The Joker. His latest tattoo takes it one stage further. A wide, red-lipped smile is now inked across the back of the Nottingham Forest striker’s right hand. The plan, as yet unexecuted, is for it to be raised in front of his face in celebration when he next scores a goal.
How Cummings would delight in debuting this new routine if granted a first Scotland cap from the bench in Thursday evening’s friendly against Holland.
The body art is a homage to Batman’s nemesis, one of his favourite film characters. That Joker wanted to watch the world burn. Cummings just wants to make it grin. If not in appreciation of his penalty-box talents, then through a seemingly inexhaustible deployment of humour. He is serious about the art of scoring. But not a great deal else.
On the opposite arm to the supervillain smile is the image of a female face. It’s Olivia Newton-John. No, seriously. In a rather eyebrow-raising confession, the 22-year-old revealed a long-time obsession with the most famous high school musical of the 1970s.
Tell me more, tell me more, as his heroine sang. Cummings is happy to answer the request, offering an insight into tattoos that reflect an ebullient personality.
‘The one on my hand? I was actually sober when I got it,’ he grinned. ‘It’s a goal celebration. I’ll need to start scoring goals to do it. If I score this week, that will be the one. I got it in Edinburgh. When I come up, I go to this girl in Edinburgh — Scoobs is her name. She’s good.
‘The Joker does it and I’m a big fan of him. But there is nothing really significant behind all of my tattoos. Except for Sandy from
Grease. That’s who this is meant to be. I asked for Sandy from
Grease as she was in the movie, not now!
‘I’m a big Grease fan. A massive fan. Honestly. It’s my favourite movie. A wee bit of inside info there. Seriously, I can do the movie word for word.
‘I just watched it when I was growing up, I don’t know why. There is a space left on my arm for Danny Zuko (John Travolta’s character) and the Pink Ladies!
‘Why do I like The Joker? It’s just his character. I think he’s a bit like me.
‘A striker needs a celebration. I scored that many goals up here that I was running out of celebrations. I needed a new one. Nah, I’m only joking. I don’t know why I got it. I’ll regret in 20 years, but live for the moment.’
Cummings could never be accused of doing otherwise. He is determined to soak up every bit of this first experience of the senior Scotland squad — even if Malky Mackay is set to prefer winger Matt Phillips for a starting striker role against the Dutch.
Cummings is the only regular centre-forward left in the squad after Leigh Griffiths (below) withdrew through injury.
‘I messaged Leigh and told him that’s me on the free-kicks now,’ quipped Cummings. ‘He sent me a text saying: “Well done on getting in the squad” before he got injured.
‘I do think he will be happy if I do well. We get on great together. He’s a good lad.’
Griffiths, of course, earned a place in Scotland folklore by planting two set-piece strikes beyond England goalkeeper Joe Hart earlier this year. Cummings’ own recollection of that dramatic June evening is a little hazier.
‘I was in Ibiza,’ he recounted. ‘I was there with Leigh the year before. We have the same group of pals, so he might have been there if he wasn’t playing.
‘For that game, I was in the Highlander (bar) in Ibiza watching it. It was bouncing. I can’t even mind the goals, actually! It was good…’
Cummings insists, however, that the buzz of his closeseason party holiday was eclipsed by the feeling of delight when he learned of his own Scotland call-up. ‘When I saw my name, I was so proud,’ he said. ‘So are my family. Getting into the Scotland squad was always something I wanted to tick off. ‘It’s a friendly, but it won’t be for me and the lads. We are focusing on Euro 2020 and this is the start. ‘If I get involved, I’ll be on it. But there are a lot of top players in the Scotland squad, so I won’t be raging if I’m not. ‘Honestly, I am so over the moon. If I could go back and tell the 12-year-old Cummings that his dream of being called up had come true, he would be so happy.’ Formerly a regular with the Under-21s, the aim is to prove he is worth keeping in the squad when the new national manager gets to work in 2018. Cummings believes he is well positioned to do so, feeling confident that his game has improved since making a £1 million-plus summer exit from Hibernian to the English Championship.
‘I’m really enjoying it at Forest,’ enthused the striker, who has scored four times for his new club.
‘The gaffer (ex-Rangers manager Mark Warburton) and the boys have been top drawer with me. I do miss my friends and family a lot and you don’t realise just how good a city Edinburgh is until you are away.
‘Nottingham is decent, though. I’m not talking about the nightlife… I’m talking about the culture! It’s a great city with
loads going on. I knew Forest were a massive club before I signed, but I don’t know much about English football in general. Even now, I am playing against guys and I don’t know who they are. I’m not being disrespectful. That’s just the way it is.
‘They will be the same with me. They hate Scottish football down there. They won’t be able to tell you two or three players up here.
‘It’s a different standard (in England). The opponents are a bit fitter with more stamina. It’s a bit more professional.
‘I feel like I’m getting used to it now. It did take me a while to get into it.
‘But the gaffer’s philosophy is how I want to play, so there is no problem there. Nothing has really changed on that front — the goals are the same size.’