Martin Greig on Wednesday: Sport, and football in particular, loves its urban myths. Fans gleefully indulge in this giant game of Chinese whispers.

Sport, and football in particular, loves its urban myths. Fans gleefully indulge in this giant game of Chinese whispers, circulating stories that probably aren't true but are given authenticity by the passage of time and the authority with which they are related. Some are ludicrously far-fetched. Others have a grain or more of truth. All tend to gather momentum because they are ripping yarns. Like the philosophy student presented with the query Is this a question?' who writes Is this an answer?' to gain full marks, there is a part of us that wants to believe them.

Urban myths are part of the fabric of following sport. They should be preserved and cherished, regardless of their veracity. Sometimes, though, reality intrudes. Ian Rush's famous quote when he signed for Italian club Juventus that "it was like playing in a foreign country" has induced tittering for decades. It has become a classic quote, wonderfully encapsulating not only the British footballer's failure to adapt overseas but also their dim-wittedness.

Only one problem, though - it was rubbish. A colleague recently interviewed the legendary Liverpool striker, who dispelled the myth immediately. "I did not say it," confessed Rush with a smile. "Blame Dalglish. It was him. He told a press man that I had said that in private. It was just a wind-up. Typical Kenny."

Another urban myth claims that the £440,000 record deal which took Dalglish from Celtic to Liverpool in 1977 contained a clause that the Scot had to have a crate of Irn Bru shipped down to him every week. Every Scotsman would love this to be true. It's not.

Celtic's victory over Inter Milan in 1967 in Lisbon gave birth to numerous urban myths. There is the apocryphal tale of the Celtic fan(s) who were so taken with the Portuguese lifestyle that they set up home there and married local woman, never to return. The story conjures up the improbable image of little Portuguese bambinos with peely wally Scottish skin and a shock of red hair being pushed down the Avenida da Liberdade by a wee guy in a Celtic shirt and a local beauty. Another tale which is more likely to be true is the one about the Celtic fan who flew back to Glasgow from Lisbon and then realised that he had actually driven to Portugal.

Then there is the story of Hamish McAlpine, the former Dundee United goalkeeper with the most famous moustache in Scottish football history. It is said that the bold Hamish could kick the ball so far that he once punted it from Tannadice into Tannadice. Now, this is a great story that has become part of Dundee folklore. I have often stood on Tannadice Street and wondered if it would be possible (yes, I realise how sad this makes me). I have the goalkeeping legend's number in my contacts book, but something stopped me dialling it yesterday. Why? I didn't want him to tell me it wasn't true.

Perhaps no player has been the subject of so many urban myths as that of Paul Gascoigne. There are numerous tall tales about the former England midfielder that he even addresses them in a separate section at the back of his autobiography. They number 50. Yes, that's 50. Now, this is where it gets tricky because some of the more outlandish stories are corroborated by Gazza himself. Incredibly, 28 out of the 50 he claims are true.

Here are a couple of true ones. "One hour after playing for England, met showbiz pals' Danny Baker and Chris Evans in a Hampstead pub while still wearing his full kit boots included." "Bought a £1000 robot and programmed it to travel into Jimmy Five Bellies' room at Gazza Towers and announce: Make me a cup of tea, fat man."

Another great tale that can be substantiated concerns Steve Nicol, the former Liverpool defender, who lived on a diet of junk food during his playing career. Nicol broke his jaw in a match in 1986 and was unable to consume his favoured cuisine in conventional fashion. So, "I was desperate for a fish supper, though, so my missus solved the problem by putting it in a liquidiser so I was able to drink it through a straw."

Gayfield, the seaside home of Arbroath FC, has inspired several urban myths over the years. There are those who claim that, on a storm-tossed night at Gayfield, it is possible to catch flying haddock with your bare hands while standing on the terracing.

Another one involves a conversation between two players reflecting on how elements can play havoc with fixture scheduling at Gayfield. "Can you believe that - a game being postponed because of wind?" the first player said. "Yes, I can," replied the second player. "In a reserve game, I was once lining up to take a corner at Gayfield when I was knocked over by a wave."

Yeah, and fish might fly.