Football family values leading Spurs fan 'Smithy'

Football is family, past, present and future, and it’s probably fair to say Spurs fan and Sky Sports presenter Adam Smith has never felt that quite as acutely as he is right now.

Recalling the first time he stepped out at our historic former home, White Hart Lane, ‘Smithy’ is already dreaming of the day he replicates that moment, for him, 26 years ago, with his son, due in January.

It’s a moment a lot of football fans can relate to, that moment when your parent(s) walked you through the turnstiles and up the steps into the stadium for the first time, and ‘wow’...

“I remember vividly that first visit,” said Adam, taking time out for his latest filming mission with Spurs TV. “We were in the East upper and, looking back, I’m so glad we were in the upper tier, because you just get the magnitude of the stadium.

“I was young, it was Spurs v Southampton, we won the game 3-0 (23 April, 1994, Steve Sedgley, Vinny Samways and Darren Anderton on target), and I just remember catching my breath a bit."

“There was a great advert of that moment done recently… your heart pounding, the scale, the noise, it was just an amazing day, one of the first moments I had as a kid where after experiencing that, I wanted to experience it again and again and again. It was sucked in completely.

“To be honest, I don’t remember the match that much, or the goals, just being happy we won, but the moment I remember so vividly was walking up those steps for the first time. That’s what hooked me in. It wasn’t a player or goal or moment, it was this big stadium, the taste, the smells and the loudness of the chanting.

“It’s funny, I’m expecting my first child, I’m going to be a dad in January - obviously, I’ve already bought the boy his first Spurs kits - and I’m already excited about taking him to his first game, and one of the first things I thought about when I knew I was having a boy was that I can’t wait for him to experience that moment I experienced 26 years ago, walking up the steps and seeing the stadium for the first time. If he enjoys that half as much as I did, he’ll be set for life as well.”

In terms of your footballing path, you’ll often follow in the footsteps of your parents, maybe siblings. It’s fair to say Adam had plenty of options, and, from our point of view, chose the right path to N17!

He explained: “I’ve three brothers who support Chelsea (Josh), Arsenal (Nick) and Watford (Daryl). My dad (Mike) supports Wolves, because… you know when you had cubs and scouts? He was in the wolf cubs, and even though he’s from Middlesex, he found out that there was a team called Wolves, so he started supporting Wolves. It’s so random!

“One of my first games was Wolves-Spurs in a pre-season friendly, and Robbie Keane was playing. I met Robbie when he was at Wolves. I’ve a soft spot for them because of my dad."

“It’s interesting, because it’s only when England are playing that we have that togetherness in football as a family. I remember the quarter-final win against Sweden in the 2018 World Cup - when Dele scored - and there was a real family camaraderie and I thought, ‘I haven’t experienced this in football, it’s usually the opposite!’

“My hero growing up was Gazza. I was very young then. My childhood hero, as in when I was connected and understood football, was David Ginola. I just remember ‘Ginola, Ginola, Ginola’ and everything about him, the hair, the suaveness.

“I was just hooked from the moment I went to my first Spurs game and had a Season Ticket for many years. The club is a huge part of my life and always will be.”

Look out for Smithy on Sky Sports hosting Saturday Social and Goals on Sunday, as well as on the talkSPORT breakfast show and Spurs TV. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamJSmithy or Instagram adamjsmithy.