"It was a dour spell in the game and I accidentally became a meme" Danny Murphy on how his ridiculous story about his cat Bob captured the imagination at the World Cup

Copy linkFacebookXPinterestEmailShare this article 0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterSubscribe to our newsletterThere are football matches so boring that you really don't envy the commentators having to come up with something to say about the lack of action unfolding in front of them.Cricket commentators have long had to find ways to fill in the long pauses in entertaining fashion...and former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy went viral after he found himself needing to do the same at the World Cup this summer.A break in play during Norway's 2-1 victory over the Ivory Coast in the round of 32 prompted Murphy to tell colleague Steve Bower all about the day his cat Bob ran away, before later explaining that it came back feral, attacked its sister Mary, then was packed off to a friends parents in Preston.Murphy told FourFourTwo: "The trigger was the substitution of Oscar Bobb.It was a dour spell in the game where there were very few good things to talk about. You may like My life is very strange Ive been in a bath with rose petals, recreating American Beauty, and over the California countryside in a hot air balloon that was also a pair of pants Peter Crouch tells FFT about his latest acting venture Chris Kamara on his infamous Anthony Vanden Borre mix-up Dimitar Berbatov opens up on his career as a cult hero "Steve Bower was having a quiet moment it just came to me."Normally when you do co-comms, the thinking is Dont make a headline by saying something so outrageous, ridiculous or contentious that it creates problems for yourself. Dont be sensationalist, be realistic with what were watching'.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.We sat in the car after the game and Im not particularly on X."But I am on Instagram, and I saw a few things starting to come through."Steve Bower was sat next to me and was like My god, whats going on here?It took off on a journey of its own and became good fun."Youve got to understand the fun element of accidentally becoming a meme."I ended up doing an advert after it, so some good came out of it."TOPICSDanny MurphyLiverpoolTottenham HotspurEnglandWorld Cup 2026World CupSteven ChickenSocial Links NavigationSteven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication,WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.With contributions fromChris FlanaganSenior Staff Writer