BY IAIN COLLIN – Capital City Press
Sean Murdoch hopes his return to Dunfermline can be a match made in heaven after becoming a global internet hit thanks to his carefully choreographed wedding proposal.
A video of the 29-year-old, who celebrated his birthday on Friday, popping the question to girlfriend Charissa Ferguson just before Christmas went viral and has now had almost one million views on Youtube.
The former Hibs and Hamilton Accies keeper was playing for Rochester Rhinos in New York at the time and was filmed going down on one knee in the Big Apple’s Times Square.
Murdoch organised a flash mob dance routine to the Bruno Mars song ‘Marry You’, with the goalie joining in with dancers from the Broadway Dance Center before presenting an engagement ring.
The ‘dancing goalie’ has been credited by some with making the best marriage proposal ever.
And, as he prepares for his second competitive East End Park debut in today’s (Saturday’s) League Cup tie with Fife rivals Cowdenbeath, the Edinburgh-born shot-stopper insists football is a breeze compared to the stress he suffered asking for his girlfriend’s hand in marriage.
Murdoch, who was previously at Dunfermline from 2005 to 2008, explained: “I’m looking forward to the game this weekend – and I don’t think I’ll be as nervous as I was for my proposal!
“It was a bit mad. I think the video has had nearly a million hits. But the fans seem to like it and I’m glad everyone’s had a good chuckle over it.
“It was a great experience, it was the best day of my life, and I couldn’t have asked for it to go any better, but I was so, so nervous.
“It was all planned down to a tee. I did five one-hour (dance) sessions to prepare for it, I had two videographers, a choreographer – and it worked out really perfectly.
“She didn’t have a clue. When it first started she just wanted to leave and go and get a coffee – and then I jumped in and she realised!”
Murdoch spent nine months in the States with Rochester in the United Soccer League but decided it was time to come home this summer.
And, despite dropping down to League One, the ex-Accrington Stanley number one believes he has joined a club on the up again as they prepare to kick-start a promotion bid with a second cup victory in the space of a week after last weekend’s 4-1 defeat of Arbroath.
He added: “I wanted to come home. The manager got in touch and it looked like a good opportunity to come back and play.
“America was great. It was great life experience and I would recommend it for any other professional footballer, to at least give it a shot in their career.
“I’ve not got anything bad to say about it. But, you know what, it is good to be home. I love Scotland and it’s great to be home.
“I stayed in New York for about three months and then Rochester for about six months. The weather was great, it was just completely different to Scotland, really.
“We thoroughly enjoyed it, but it was just time to come home and I thought this was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.
“I think everyone’s looking at us, even people who don’t follow Dunfermline, to get ourselves out of this league. We are a big club and we need to get out of this league. We need to at least be in the Championship.
“We were in the Premier League all the time I was here before. We were doing well, we were in the top-four, Europe, Scottish Cup finals.
“We’ve got a very good squad and that can only bode well for Dunfermline.”
@IainCollin
