FOF'erview with Billy the Badger’s creator, Kyle Jackson

[Friendsoffulham]

FOF'erview with Billy the Badger's creator, Kyle Jackson



Have you ever wondered how Billy the Badger was created and came to be?  Well lucky for us our very own Dannyboi just happens to be a mate of Kyle Jackson, the inspiration behind Billy the Badger, and recently he sat down to have just such a chat.   

Dannyboi - What made you a Fulham fan?  Did anyone influenced you in becoming a fan?
Kyle - I moved to the UK when I was 8 from South Africa.  I didn't know much about football, and first called myself an Arsenal fan!  When I started to play football myself (and wised up), I was a goalkeeper. My mum's family is Dutch and Van der Sar soon became my favorite player in the national team... So it was Edwin who got me in to Fulham!

Dannyboi - How long have you been supporting the club? 
Kyle - I think the first season I could call myself a "real" fan was the 2003/2004 season. My favourite shirt is from that season!

Dannyboi - What has been your most favorite memory from being a Fulham fan? 
Kyle - The European games must be up there.  That season I was lucky enough to go to Basel, Turin, Hamburg (twice), Belfast, and Twente.  Made some amazing memories and some great friends.

Dannyboi - What has been your worst memory from being a Fulham Fan?
Kyle - Obviously getting relegated wasn't fun and the following couple years didn't get much better.  Those were the 3 seasons I gave up my season ticket as I moved out to Singapore so at least I didn't experience too much of it.  I have to say though, I think my worst memory was when we lost Dembele and Dempsey.  We had such great potential that season.

Dannyboi - What led you and inspired you to create Billy tthe Badger? 
Kyle - The club had an online competition.  At the time, there was a viral video involving dancing badgers, mushrooms and a snake.  Back then a friend of mine, who is a Cambridge fan, and I both would put our team shirts on.  The team shirts said badger and we would wear them to play in a 6-a-side team called the Cambridge badgers.  So, when I saw the competition I thought a badger would work well.  So, I sent a picture in of a badger.

Dannyboi - How old were you when you did this?
Kyle - I think I was around 12 years old.

Dannyboi - Were there any other reasons for coming up with a badger, other than your experience in Cambridge?
Klye - When I sent the picture in of the badger, I included a brief reason of why the Fulham mascot should be a badger.  Badgers are black and white and are traditionally British just like Fulham.  Badgers also live in big families and Fulham is a big family.

Dannyboi - Do you have any drawings or sketches of your original design? 
Kyle - Unfortunately I don't.  The club did send me some pictures but that laptop that I had them stored on died many years ago.  I should really get in touch with the club and see if they have any in the archive.  I also keep meaning to ask if I could have a costume!

Dannyboi - Did you get anything out of creating Billy from the club?  An award or a plaque? 
Kyle - I got 2 free tickets to see us play against Arsenal.  That was my first game!  We lost 4-0 in that match and Henry got a standing ovation.  I also got a goodie bad that a had keychain, stickers, book, etc.  Funny thing is I had to buy my own Billy the Badger toy when they first came out, ha-ha.

Dannyboi - Did the experience of creating Billy have any effect on your future choices for a career?  What do you do now for a living?   
Kyle - I actually went on to study marketing at university.  Then I went on to running pubs where I did do a lot of design work and digital marketing.  Since then though I've gone into more of a normal office job.

Dannyboi -  What is your favorite memory of Billy? 
Kyle -  I love it when Billy gets into the spot light, especially during games.  I remember things like Billy "Attacking" Avram Grant and being sent off for staying on the pitch break-dancing for too long.

Dannyboi - Have you heard of Sir Craven of Cottage and do you know what he looks like? If yes, would you be nervous for Billy if I told you I've heard he's making a comeback.
Kyle Who? ......Just kidding. I've heard of and seen Sir Craven (not in the flesh). I wouldn't be too nervous, he just looked very sun burnt. Didnt Dabs.com have a mascot? Was it a computer? ......now there's a challenger haha!





Dannyboi - As you mentioned above Billy is not shy of getting into a confrontation like the Avram Grant spat. If given the opportunity to have a boxing match with one of these three, who would he pick? Chelsea's Stamford the Lion, Brentford's Buzz Bee or Qpr's Ian Holloway?
Kyle Well I'm speaking on behalf of my "son". I'm sure he'd be happy to take them all on. In case there are youngsters reading I won't go into too much detail on how things would unfold  :dft011:  [dannyboi pushing for him to pick one]......oh I guess it has to be Qpr's Ian Holloway lol.

Dannyboi -  What do you think Billy brings to Fulham and its fans? 
Kyle -  This is my favorite thing; the kids do really seem to love him and lots of friends tell me he is a real favorite of their kids.

FoF would like to think Mr. Kyle Jackson for his time in answering these questions.  We would also like to thank Mr. Jackson for having the creativity to come up with our Club's beloved Billy the Badger.     


Comments from Dannyboi on Kyle- This is the first of several Q&A's we are hoping to do going forward and although many will naturally be more interested in ones with ex players I feel the creation of Billy is an important one. 3 of my 4 kids are under 5 and I know first hand how important the role of Billy is in securing the love and connection future generations will have with Fulham. We aren't Man Utd or Arsenal, it's vital we maintain our fan base because without it there is no club.

Whilst we all get excited by the blistering pace of Fred or the silky skills of Aluko, kids get more excited by the half time hello from Billy. Kyle has become a close family friend especially to my sister and brother in law and it's a pleasure knowing him and attending games with him especially away days. Kyle probably wouldnt support Fulham if he'd not won this competition and both Kyle and Billy are great additions to the Fulham family. I'd like to thank Kyle for agreeing to doing this, he's a top bloke and I hope you enjoy reading it.

[RaySmith]

Very interesting to find out about Billy's  creation.
I have fond memories of him inspiring the Fulham fans at away games in the Great Escape season.

[love4ffc]

I would like to thank Dannyboi for taking the time to put this together.  I love to hear the history about the various aspects of the club so knowing how and where Billy the Badger came from is great for me. 

[Apprentice to the Maestro]

Excellent interview.

Learning about other fans and those in the background at the club can be just as interesting as interviews with players so carry on selecting your subjects as you find them interesting.

[sunburywhite]

who is the current person inside the costume and what do they think of being Billy?

[The Equalizer]

"If given the opportunity to have a boxing match with one of these three, who would he pick? Chelsea's Stamford the Lion, Brentford's Buzz Bee or Qpr's Ian Holloway?"

Brilliant! I just had a proper good laugh at that Dannyboi.

[EastEndWhite]

who is the current person inside the costume and what do they think of being Billy?

"Person inside"? You'll  be telling us next that Father Christmas doesn't exist.

[dannyboi-ffc]

"If given the opportunity to have a boxing match with one of these three, who would he pick? Chelsea's Stamford the Lion, Brentford's Buzz Bee or Qpr's Ian Holloway?"

Brilliant! I just had a proper good laugh at that Dannyboi.

I'm still laughing to myself now about this question. It annoyed me that at first his answer was very much sitting on the fence. There's only one answer Here, 2 are kids mascots bless 'em.

Now Billy, go and punch Ian Holloway in the face lol

[Woolly Mammoth]

who is the current person inside the costume and what do they think of being Billy?

Rumour has it from my Intelligence Unit. It's Felix Wolfgang Magath, and he loves it because it's the only time supporters will smile at him, and wave at him. As opposed to growling at him and shaking their fists. 👊

[The Equalizer]

It used to be Liam (not sharing surname on here) inside the suit. Don't know if he still does it.

[St. Andrews White]

Absolutely brilliant, thanks Dannyboi

Sent from my LG-H850 using Tapatalk

[hovewhite]

Great work danny.