Knitting football fan shares story behind hobby
Cameras caught Laura Cameron knitting a striped sock as she watched the game at Nottingham's City Ground
- Published
A football fan who was caught on camera knitting at a game has shared the story behind her hobby.
Laura Cameron became the unexpected star of the match during Wednesday's Nottingham Forest home fixture against Newcastle United when Sky Sports captured her knitting at the City Ground.
With her eyes fixed on the game, Ms Cameron, from Beeston in Nottinghamshire, was still managing to knit a pair of socks without missing a loop.
On Friday, she revealed she was in fact a Notts County fan, as she told the BBC how knitting helped her rehabilitate after a brain injury.
After the match, Ms Cameron checked her phone to find she had several messages telling her she was "all over the internet".
Sky Sports commentators had praised Ms Cameron for her focus on the game as she nonchalantly knitted a striped sock.
'I knit everywhere'
After a brain injury in 2015 as a result of an asthma attack, Ms Cameron said she was taught to crochet by brain injury charity Headway as part of her rehabilitation.
"Now I will knit at meetings, I knit on the tram, I knit everywhere," she said.
She added: "It gave me something to keep my body moving while my brain wasn't letting the rest of me move in the way I wanted to.
"Unfortunately, I developed arthritis, and it made it quite painful to crochet, so I took up knitting, and now it comes everywhere with me."
Ms Cameron attends Nottingham Forest games with her son, but she supports Notts County, she said
It was a few years ago that Ms Cameron started taking her knitting needles to football games, while attending with her 14-year-old son.
And although her son is a Nottingham Forest fan, Ms Cameron said she found her "tribe" with Notts County Football Club.
She said: "Notts County were amazing; they absolutely adopted me - they were so welcoming that I loved it, and this year I've got a full season ticket for myself as well.
"We follow them up and down the country, but for me it's been quite a recent endeavour."
She added: "While a lot of the older fans remember when we were competitive, a lot of younger fans have more of a brotherly, friendlier rivalry."
Ms Cameron said she was knitting socks to match home and away kits for Notts County and Nottingham Forest
After her warm introduction to the game, Ms Cameron got involved with the Disabled Supporters Association (DSA) at Notts County.
With a firm belief that "everybody should have that matchday experience", she said she hoped other disabled supporters, like her, would be encouraged to get in touch with their relevant DSA and attend matches.
She added she was tempted to auction off the socks she was knitting at Wednesday's game to raise funds for the DSA.
Speaking of her 15 minutes of fame, she said: "It has been crazy but so warm.
"I think it's a really good example of how welcoming and warm the football community can be.
"Once you find your tribe, you'll never look back."
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