“ARE you looking forward to the World Cup?” I asked Geoff Hurst. It was a simple question, but one I’ll always regret asking.

It is 44 years since England won the World Cup and, for this journalist at least, it is time for a new goalscoring hero.

Most look back on Hurst’s hat-trick in 1966 with fondness but, although I was not alive at the time, the footage brings back bad memories for me.

Hurst will forever remain a national hero, and rightly so. But there is some truth to the saying that you should worship your heroes from afar.

The chance to meet and interview some of sport’s most famous names is one of the real privileges of this profession.

In a previous job, I was kindly invited to a sportsman’s dinner just before the last World Cup. Among those present were Jack Charlton, Martin Peters and Hurst.

As they waited beforehand in a separate room, I interviewed Charlton and Peters.

I was informed that Hurst may not be able to do an interview because of an exclusive deal with a national newspaper, but a colleague encouraged me to ask him.

He was the biggest name, and the worst he could do was say no.

So I asked him, and he said no - politely at first but a little more insistently when a colleague briefly tried to change his mind.

Then followed the awkward moment. We were all going nowhere, waiting for the event to start. Rather than let an uncomfortable silence set in, I attempted to rescue the situation by exchanging small talk.

“Are you looking forward to the World Cup?” I asked Sir Geoff, opting for the all too obvious ice breaker. Big mistake.

Hurst shifted on his seat, pointedly turning his head away, and sat in silence, glaring into space. I was being blanked by England’s hero of 1966.

After I made it clear this was merely conversation rather than a covert attempt at an interview, dialogue resumed. But the subject of football never came up again.

Hurst has had decades of dealing with journalists, so maybe past experiences meant his response was understandable. People who know him tell me he’s a good man.

But it would be preferable if, in a few years’ time, the footage on the television is of World Cup victory in 2010 rather than 1966.

If only so I’m not continually reminded of that meeting with Sir Geoff.