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As he approached the
players entrance the few old school supporters that still gathered
there looked at him without recognition and carried on their
conversation. Their attachment was more to the stadium than the
players as you could now follow them on match day's in intimate
detail. Heart rate, blood pressure, adrenalin, lactic acid, training
history even psychological profiles. As many or as few readouts as
you selected. They would be gone before kick off anyway, home if
they were local or to one of the sports bars if they were willing to
forgo total immersion for just a holo and a few beers.
He walked into the
control suite through security programmed to his unique pheromone
pattern and keyed in his randomised warm up. The monitors showed the
digitised crowd filing in to their seats, faces and crowd
indistinguishable from reality unless examined on a pixel by pixel
level. As the tunnel entrance opened to allow the teams out for their
warm up the recognition algorithm picked out individual players and
patched in chants and calls from round the globe. All but the oldest
players were completely used to the new system and most of them
actually enjoyed the interaction and knowledge that they were now
virtually as close to the millions as they used to be to just sixty
thousand. Crowd and supporter cutaways were now prioritised on a
number of criteria for the accepted main edit. Maybe paid for
individually or by sponsors, supporters groups or influenced by media
demanding a certain bias for their ever increasing financial input.
Donning the headset he
experienced the familiar shiver as connections were made, settled
back and bought up the inputs; geographical, emotional, sponsors,
owners, media etc. Any one of which could either ruin the day, lose
the club a fortune or him his contract if he got the mix wrong.
There was no provision
for the visiting team they operated from their own home base which
was either as well appointed as his for the more successful teams or
picked from a pre-recorded bank for those who couldn't afford
realtime suites. In more important matches they might hire them or
sometimes they would be gifted by a sponsor or even a media
organisation that was hoping for an exclusive or a possible upset.
The ongoing row over
who ran the show now, League, Club or Broadcast media was not
something he could pay any attention to. He was paid by the club so
until he was told different that was where his loyalty lay. He was
well up in the ratings with still a few games to go and determined
that this season was not going to a be a 'not quite'. This season
he'd be grinning from ear to ear with a best Match Mix award to his
name. After that he'd see who came in for him if the club wouldn't up
the ante. After all supporter he may be but, like the players it was
now a job.
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