Chris Kamara interview: 'I didn’t want people to feel sorry for me. I didn’t want to be a victim'

As a TV football commentator, Chris Kamara was a one-off. Sure, he knew a lot about the sport. But that’s not why he was loved. No, he was loved for his smile and great roar of a laugh. He was loved for seeing the funny side of everything – most of all himself. He was loved for his unique Kammy-isms – for example, in one match report describing Tottenham Hotspur as “fighting like beavers”. He was loved for the word he would frequently bellow from grounds where he was reporting back to Jeff Stelling in Sky Sports’s Soccer Saturday studio. “Un-be-lie-va-ble!” or at times, “Un-be-lie-va-ble, Jeff!” 

Best of all, he was loved for the things he missed. On one memorable Saturday in April 2010, Kamara was covering a match between Portsmouth and Blackburn. Stelling, then the show’s anchor, said, “We’re off to Fratton Park, where there’s been a red card. But for who, Chris Kamara?” Kamara looked bemused. Most pundits would try to blag it, but not Kammy. “I don’t know, Jeff!” he replied. “Has there? I must’ve missed that – is it a red card?’ He stared down at the pitch, none the wiser.

“Have you not been watching?” Stelling asked. “What has happened, Chris?” By now Kamara looked like a schoolboy caught truanting by his headteacher.

“I don’t know, Jeff!” His mouth opened wide, and he laughed and laughed. “I dunno. The rain must’ve got in my eyes, Jeff!” Stelling told him to get his fingers out to count how many players were left on the pitch. Kamara’s voice rose to a squeak. “No, you’re right. I saw him go off, but I thought they were bringing a sub on, Jeff.” 

“As professional as ever, Kammy,” Stelling said. “Cutting-edge reports on Gillette Soccer Saturday!” Back in the studio, his fellow football pundits were in hysterics.