It's an interesting one this given this directly refers to people like myself I guess. I do kinda get where the OP comes from. I'll explain my side in some detail here.
Firstly, the fact that they exist proves there is an obvious audience for them. I make videos like this btw...(this is just a reference cos i mention it a lot in the following paragrahps haha)
I really, really do get why people wouldn't like them. I honestly do - on the surface it's some blokes face up close while watching the game - that is a weird one when you imagine it, but I also feel the need to defend it entirely. On a personal level I just enjoy creating. If you look at that video it isn't just 90 minutes of some bloke recording his face. Far, far from it. That intro for example is pretty well shot/edited and so on. I actually genuinely like the idea of cinematography. I got the bug for making videos after Blue Moon Rising TV invited me on to the channel, and I've always been been a creative person instinctively cos of stuff with my band and I've always had a big admiration for people on YouTube like Casey Neistat. A really creative filmmaker who took his skills to YouTube and made short, very entertaining and interesting 10 minute 'vlogs' every day about life and travel and so on. So personally I thought 'fuck it, i'll combine the things I love it and give it ago'.
That was my motivation 100%. Combining things I love - cinematography, video making and football. If I'm being honest, I love it. I genuinely do. I have got some stick for it, no point pretending otherwise, though I'm aware a large part of that came after I'd said some pretty obnoxious thing on twitter about the atmosphere (I was in a bad mood that day - i'd just found out a few days earlier I was losing my job ha. We all have those moments) and as a result some people, and I understand why, thought 'here's that vlogging twat preaching about the atmosphere' and gave me stick. I had it coming. In general though I've actually had a lot of really, really nice feedback from people who say they really appreciate the look at the game from the fan's perspective.
Overseas fans in particular love it - and I can see why. Their only experience of the games these days is usually dodgy streams or crap bitter punditry from ex Liverpool or United players. To some of them I can imagine its quite nice seeing it from an almost first person perspective - it must be refreshing experiencing what it's like on an actual matchday, and that is mainly what most say when feeding back. The ones who enjoy it the UK just seem to say they enjoy watching a big City fan enjoying the game, and they actually seem to enjoy the editing and production I put into my videos. I'm a pretty passionate bloke in general, always have been, and my reactions when we score and I lose my shit are 100% genuine. i've always been a 'hug a random stranger' after a goal type haha. I also like to think people like my videos cos I put some really nice shots in. I also capture people being people. I honestly try and approach it like I was making a mini-doc. I'm no Spielberg, that much is clear, but I like to think my videos are a bit better than some muppet stood there with his phone recording his face and nowt else. I actually use a nice camera for one too, and I can edit a bit.
I personally would hate to just sit and record my face for 90 minutes. Fuck that. I don't. The only time I ever say anything substantial is before the game/HT/after the game. Otherwise it's usually a quick, fleeting comment when the ball's gone out of play - in the same way you'd turn to your mate to say something. That's how I approach it. I do see other people do it who record themselves for about two minutes ranting mid game. I don't get that personally. That isn't for me, cos as people say, you're missing out on the game. I don't feel that I miss *any* of the game at all during making mine. People seem to enjoy the little interactions in mine too i think. My girlfriend or someone I know is usually with me and there are some genuinely funny moments. I try and find a nice balance.
There is of course the downside, and it's easy to lump everyone in together. As wiht everything, I think there are good examples and bad examples. Not all guitar music is shit, not all of it is great and so on. That clip that went viral though of the Arsenal fan standing up and ranting mid match....well he's just a bellend. That is crap - that's LOOK AT ME to the extreme. He's causing a scene just to be controversial. I'd also never do anything that dickhead-like cos it just pisses people off. Likewise, there's another Arsenal fan who literally records himself for minutes at a time talking mid game. I don't get it. I really don't.
However, if someone wants to do that. Fair enough I guess. It is after all their time, their money and their life. I guess people like watching it, they like re-living game through someone else. It's a very human thing I guess to relate your feelings towards someone else's. Maybe it's kinda therapeutic watching someone else go through the same emotions you go through? In general people react to faces. Faces convey emotion - it's as simple as that. It's a very human urge to actually look at them ha. I know that's pretentious bollocks, but its true. Anyway, im waffling trying to understand the appeal too. I don't know tbh, but I can see why people like it. I can also see why some don't.
In summary, and sorry it's very long, I get it, and I don't at the same time. I like to think my videos are good, but i am biased admittedly. I like to think some fans enjoy watching the game through the eyes of a passionate, life long City fan. I try and make a short piece of entertainment with personality, chants, some actual, considered editing and I try and make the whole thing feel good. It's what I like doing, and I'm glad I do it. I think some people associate all this with the whole 'against modern football', and I get that too. I've been called a plastic countless times as well, but i've been a City fan since I was a baby and I'm 31, so ya know...it's just what it is. Anyway, I don't want to preach to anyone. In general, live and let live in is probably a good way to look at it.
ps - in general too, I enjoy YouTube. It's gratifying. Making a quick video, discussing the game for a few minutes and posting it online takes no time at all, and I really do honestly enjoy interacting with people in the comments. It's a buzz, no two ways about it. It's not for everyone, but people like it.
