Greenacres Dragons Football Club umpire Dave Crispin makes a splash with flamboyant game day performances
Dave “Crispo” Crispin is not your everyday local footy league goal umpire. And fans are starting to take notice.
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On any given Saturday there’s a touch of theatre among the liniment and sausage sizzle as local amateur footy league umpire Dave “Crispo” Crispin attracts cheers instead of jeers.
Dressed in his traditional white coat and broad brimmed hat goal umpire Crispin has been enthusiastically adding theatrical flourish to his flag waving for more than 20 years while officiating up to three games a weekend for the Greenacres Dragons Football Club.
“I was doing goal umpiring for a long time ago and I just thought to myself if I’m getting bored others will too be so it’s time to do something different,” Crispin said.
“I’ve always worn the coat and the hat I bought from a bowls store, so I decided it was time to just add a bit of fun into the role by adding some theatre.”
Crispin’s collection of hats includes a bowler and a more formal top hat for when the match ends and the serious business of comparing score sheets is completed.
As well as props the umpire employs a whole variety of waving styles to signal a goal, from the more classic flag wave finished with a kick to the Mae West, involving an hourglass shaped flag wave followed by a Monty Python-esque silly walk.
Greenacres Football Club vice president Vanessa Webster is one of Crispin’s many fans.
“He is a much loved and valued life member and as long as I can remember he has been our goal umpire,” Webster said.
“He’s entertaining, funny and well known outside of the club.
“They say to me ‘Oh you’re from the club with the guy behind goals who has the different flags and the way does things when the goal is scored.
“The players love him. He is very intelligent and a really nice guy”.
If you ask Crispin, his most important prop is his white coat.
“With a coat like this you can do various things,” he said.
“You can be a bit like Bela Lagosi, (an actor in the 1930s who was routinely cast as Dracula), or you can fly around with it.”
A delivery driver by day, Crispin’s Saturdays are spent umpiring for his beloved Dragons at both home and away matches while entertaining the players and spectators with his theatrics.
“I love having fun and I try to do that with most things in my life,” he said.
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