Learning about respect, long before I understood it

As a kid, I was obsessed with football. Growing up in a hotel my father managed, I witnessed many interesting moments. One stands out—a pre-season friendly match between our local football team, made up of the butcher, plumber etc and a professional team from the nearest big city, a 90 minute drive away. For a town of about 9,000 people, this visit was a big deal.

After the game, the professional team gathered in the hotel restaurant—around 30 players and coaching staff, filling the room with the kind of loud, confident energy that could be intimidating to a young boy. I went around collecting autographs from the players. One particular table had an oddly intimidating aura about it. They weren’t famous to me, but clearly it was the manager’s table, there was a newly appointed manager at the club—this was a table that was clearly ‘the grown-ups’ in the room. I left this table until last, slightly unsure as to disturb them.

At the last second, I decided to ask for their autographs, and one of them stopped to interact with me: “What’s your name, son?” Job done—all autographs collected.

Later that evening, I examined my collection. Among the names, one stood out. Someone had written, “Best wishes, Iain, Alex Ferguson.”

In that small moment, Alex Ferguson had shown a level of kindness and attention to detail I’ll never forget. Five years later, he would lead Aberdeen to victory in the 1983 European Cup Winners’ Cup final, defeating Real Madrid. With an average attendance of around 15,000 and no wealthy backers, Aberdeen became the dominating team in Scotland and a major force in European football. A good few of the players who would go on to achieve that victory, and so many more, were in the restaurant that day. This was also their first experience with the new boss.

Football was different back then. But even before his legendary reign at Manchester United, Ferguson’s genius was clear. And yet, in an unremarkable moment, with no spotlight, he took the time to show kindness to a kid. That’s the true measure of a person—who we are when no one’s watching.

Iain Cameron is a Copenhagen based designer. Here is my portfolio.