Morning.
I by no means had the privilege of assembly Kevin Campbell in actual life, however I used to be a visitor on just a few episodes of the Highbury Squad podcast he did with Sophie Nicolau.
The primary time I did it, we had been ‘backstage’ earlier than recording/streaming began, and he welcomed me and spoke to me as if I used to be an previous buddy. I’ve been doing Arseblog for a very long time now, however it’s unattainable to not get just a bit bit star-struck if you meet somebody who has acquired any form of historical past with Arsenal. These guys you will have watched play and rating and signify the crimson and white with such high quality over time, I feel it’s regular to simply be a little bit nervous.
However Kevin was somebody who put you relaxed right away. He was heat, personable, charming, and even when didn’t at all times agree on all soccer matters, we might talk about them in an open and interesting method. I don’t do a lot of Twitter nowadays, however my timeline yesterday was crammed with tributes to Kevin Campbell, all of which had been so overwhelmingly optimistic about him as a participant and an individual. From all of the golf equipment he performed for, not simply Arsenal, and from folks he labored with after he had hung up his boots.
Many gamers go into media afterwards, however you don’t at all times get to know who they are surely as a result of there’s an expert entrance, so to talk. Kevin Campbell was somebody who did the mainstream stuff, however as a result of he additionally acquired on the mic for podcasts, we acquired to know him a little bit higher than a number of the others. We had been fortunate to share in his ardour for Arsenal and for soccer, and to have spent any time in his orbit is to have come away feeling pleased you bought to spend a little bit time in his world.
His passing at simply 54 appears so merciless, it actually is not any age, and it’s a reminder to all of us that you simply simply by no means know the hour or the day. It makes you do not forget that life is brief, and that the really essential issues are to be variety, to take care of one another, to care about one another, and to attempt to comply with the instance he set. Others have written longer tributes to a person they knew much better than I did, I assumed Amy’s piece for The Athletic was great for instance, however like everybody else I used to be so unhappy to listen to of his passing yesterday.
Honest condolences to his household and his many pals. He was a top quality participant, and a top quality man.
RIP Tremendous Kev.
