Chris Kamara on lockdown life and that red card gaffe
Football pundit Chris Kamara talks to Luke Rix-Standing about the quirks of fan-less matches, enforced family time, and the pitfalls of live commentary.
CHRIS KAMARA, widely nicknamed Kammy, has had an unusually varied career.
His playing days took him from Swindon Town to Leeds, and for multiple clubs, he was their first ever black player. His first job as a manager saw him win promotion with Bradford City, but his backroom career was curtailed by a disastrous spell at former club Stoke.
After moving into punditry, he won quick acclaim on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday with his animated outbursts, including, “Unbelievable Jeff ”, and, “They’re fighting like beavers.”
In 2010 he achieved online stardom after a spectacular on air gaffe, in which he completely missed the sending off of Anthony Vanden Borre during Portsmouth’s league clash with Blackburn.
He earned a ticking off from the producer, but the moment was certified TV gold, and Kamara’s honest confusion became an overnight viral hit.
More TV work followed – including a presenting gig on Ninja Warrior and a special episode of Strictly – alongside a Christmas album and singing career.
Most recently, Kammy has embraced lockdown by commentating on Arla Cravendale’s Last Marble Standing –an online marbles tournament.
“My son Ben is my main guide to what’s going on, so I asked him about the Last Marble Standing game and he said they were massive and showed me some stuff on YouTube,” he says.
“I used to play marbles as a kid, and doing commentary again was a chance I had to take. I haven’t done commentary for 10 years and I started out a bit rusty. I have had offers from other big broadcasting companies, but I’d never leave Sky because of how good they’ve been to me.
“If I could get back to occasional commentary on the Premier League or Championship, I’d definitely snaffle it up.”
Kammy has adapted well to working and commentating virtually. His son and family moved in with him a week before lockdown began. “He helped me construct an office in a spare room and it couldn’t have worked out better,” he says. “I can survive without going to the studio at all.”
“I’ve been a dad for 34 years, and we’ve never had quality time where we all wake up together every day,” he adds.
“If there is a silver lining to come out of all of this, that’s definitely it.”
He has been getting his sporting fix by tuning into anything shown live and watching replays from years gone by. “(Football) is really strange because, with no cheers, you can’t tell if a goal has gone in or past the post. I’m used to it now – just watch for player reactions.”
As for commentating, he says he never gets nervous before going on air.
“You have to do your homework when you do commentary and I know my football. It’s like everything else – when everything is fine you don’t even think about it, and when you’ve had a bad show, you beat yourself up same as everybody.
“But I don’t get nervous. I have the opportunity to be me on television, and that’s why.”
He has been a top commentator for a long time now, but is it ever frustrating that people fixate on the red card cockup? “No, it’s been fantastic,” he says. “I’d already been at Sky for 11 years when that happened, so we’d had a lot of laughs along the way, and the chemistry between myself and Jeff (Stelling) was great.
“I do an analytical programme on a Sunday morning, and people seem to think I’m two different people – one on Sunday who has his head in the game, and then a whole other person on Saturday.
“I like everyone to feel that I’m shouting for their team as loudly as they are – even though I have to stay neutral.”