Gary spends lockdown bringing birthday cheer to fans
BI’ve had one or two people who didn’t believe it was me and wouldn’t talk to me, thinking it was a joke by their mates Gary Mabbutt
RISTOL Rovers, Tottenham and England legend Gary Mabbutt has been spending two or three hours every day during lockdown calling Spurs fans on their birthdays - and is fast approaching 1,000 calls he’s made so far.
The Bristolian defender started making the calls when lockdown began, as a way of keeping occupied because, as a diabetic, he had to shield completely in his house from March.
The popular former-England player has done workshops for the dementia charity Sporting Memories Foundation, but when the coronavirus lockdown hit, he found the only way to support people himself was to get on the phone.
In June, the Telegraph reported for the first time that the 59-year-old had been quietly doing this from his own home every day – and even with the pandemic lockdown easing, he’s carried it on.
Now, six months on, he’s fast approaching 1,000 calls he’s made since he started.
Gary said: “With people in the vulnerable groups and a lot of our older supporters living on their own, the idea was simply for me to call them up on their birthdays or anniversaries,.
“It’s mainly to say ‘hello’, and wish them a happy birthday from me, and everyone at the club.
“But what tended to happen was we’d end up having a great old chat about football and their memories of attending every game during the Double-winning side of 1961 and their favourite players from those days.
“It was also a chance to find out how they’re coping in these strange times,” he added.
Gary has long worked as an ambassador for the White Hart Lane club, but he did admit that a few people who answered the phone to him refused to believe it was him.
“I’ve had one or two people who didn’t believe it was me and wouldn’t talk to me, thinking it was a joke by their mates,” he said.
“I had to provide facts and figures to prove who I was.
“There were two gentlemen in particular I tried to ring three times, but they wouldn’t believe it was really me and put the phone down every time. So to Dave and Kevin – I didn’t get a chance to speak to you but I hope you both had good birthdays!”
He went on: “It has been an eyeopening experience,
“You forget that most of the people you’re talking to every day have been Spurs fans for 60 or 70 years.
“I was playing for the club for 16 years, but I never really got the opportunity to speak to these people.
“So it’s been quite an experience for me as well.
“One gentleman was reminiscing about how Spurs was back in the 1940s just after the Second World War, when football was just starting up again, and I found myself learning an awful lot.
“So while they are very grateful for the call and thankful to the club, it’s also been a lot of fun for me and a great way to pass my time at home during lockdown.”
Gary was born and bred in Bristol. He joined Rovers in 1979, making more than 130 appearances, before leaving for Spurs in 1982. Last year he received an honorary degree from the University of Bristol.