My husband spends Saturday watching college football. He has ESPN on this morning and I was making noodles. I heard something about a football player that knits. I went in and watched it. His name is Ian Johnson and he plays for Boise State. He is a young black man who knits up a storm and of course is teased. He can knit a beany in 45 minutes and he IS fast! They showed a picture of the stadium and a bunch of people had his beanies on! I think that is so cool!
That is totally neat!!! Did they say who taught him to knit?
If they did, I didn’t catch that part. I was elbow deep in rolling out egg noodles and just hear football player and knitting. The bad part for him is that because he is a scholarship player etc, the NCAA rules will not allow him to advertise to sell his beanies (which look great btw) so the only way he is allowed to make money with them is word of mouth. What college kid, even a scholarship one, doesn’t need pocket money?
Sounds like ESPN just gave him plenty of word of mouth to me. :teehee:
That is really cool, though.
Did you know that there was a football player in the 70s named Rosie Grier who was also known for his knitting? He’s actually the very reason that I learned to knit!
This is how it happened… earlier this year DH and I were watching a re-run of Match Game on the Game Show Network. (Remember Brett Sommers and Charles Nelson Riley? I have fond memories of watching that show back in elementary school.) Anyway, Rosie was one of the guests. They talked a little about his knitting, and Gene Rayburn (the host) said that he used to knit his own socks – they even showed a picture. I told DH that I thought it would be a cool thing to know how to do, and guess what? I ended up with a little starter kit for Valentine’s Day, a week or so later. The rest, as they say, is history. 
OMG, I just realized that I was inspired to knit by two men! :teehee:
ETA: See my post below for some corrections – looks like I had a few mistakes in my story! :oops:
I thought Rosie did needlepoint?
sue
I just did a little research, and it looks like I’ve been spelling his name wrong – it’s Rosey, short for Roosevelt. Oops. I was also wrong about when he played football – looks like he started in the 50s and continued into the 60s. I guess I thought 70s because that’s when Match Game was on. Anyway, it looks like he did both knitting and needlepoint. He apparently wrote a needlepoint book for men, so maybe he’s more known for that. I know they talked about knitting on the show, though.
ETA: Okay, I think I’m going 
. I just asked DH whether Rosey did knitting or needlepoint, and he said he thought needlepoint. So now I’m wondering whether I remembered the whole thing wrong, and it was only Gene Rayburn who was a knitter. I did find references to Rosey as a knitter through google, but his Wikipedia entry doesn’t mention it (though it does say he liked needlepoint and macrame). So, to set the record straight, Rosey may or may not have been a knitter, but he for sure did needlepoint and wrote a book about it. And Gene Rayburn for sure knit socks, because I distinctly remember them showing a picture of him with them. I know that no one else probably cares about this, but I hate the idea of posting wrong information. In the unlikely chance that I ever see that Match Game episode again, I will update here to confirm it either way. For anyone who made it this far, thank you for your patience. :teehee:
We live very near to the stadium where the New England Patriots play … my LYS owner goes to the same gym where some of the players go in the off-season. A few of them either knit or are interested in learning … my LYS is thinking of putting together a Men’s Knitting class this summer just for them.
Of course, I’m sure it would be the most popular class around, as I know several non-knitting men who would take it up just to hobnob with pro football players!
That is cool! It’s hard to imagne a man knitting as there has not been one single man I’ve met in my life who knits or crochets. So when I hear of a man knitting I find it fascinating.
What a great way to recruit!!!
I know a lot of guys who are interested in knitting but won’t pursue it. that Mens’ Knitting Class is a great idea! 
Way to go for that college kid!
Rosey Grier did knit. My dad was always a HUGE fan of his and when I told him that I’d bought a kit to learn he said “Just like Rosey.” Then he went on to tell me all kinds of tales about what a macho guy he was & how cool it was that he did needlepoint & knitting. Dad said he remembers seeing pics of R.G. knitting in a paper or magazine eons ago.
Oh thank you knitaddict. Good to know I’m not totally off my rocker! :roflhard: