The date was May 29, 2015. I had the privilege of watching Derek Norris of the San Diego Padres deposit a middle-in pitch into the visiting bullpen at Petco Park for a walk-off grand slam. The game-winning home run was, is, and probably always will be the most amazing live moment I have ever experienced as not just a die-hard Padres fan, but as a sports fan in general. And I would have given anything for a stadium camera to have shown me on the jumbotron at that instant.
England’s Manchester City Football Club understands that more often than not, fans do not have the opportunity to end up on the jumbotron even when they desperately want to. That’s why Manchester City FC is going to start trying out a new app called Snaptivity, “which will allow fans to focus stadium cameras on themselves and friends during match highlights to create an ‘event triggered extended selfie,’” according to The Drum. Essentially, Snaptivity will give fans a say in when they end up on the big screen — an idea that has certainly never been implemented before. Something like Snaptivity would have made my walk-off grand slam experience even better, with all 45,000 people in attendance at that Padres-Pirates game being able to see the bewildered and excited look on my face.
@Snaptivity drives Fan Engagement by capturing candid moments of ecstatic, scarf-waving, high-fiving fans #pitchlive pic.twitter.com/tj72QEmfSq
— Snaptivity (@Snaptivity) November 25, 2015
Get The Latest Sports Tech News In Your Inbox!
Snaptivity is the product of a campaign by Ideas Britain called #InSport, which is supported by Manchester City FC itself and Creative England. Creative England is a company that gives people — notably entrepreneurs — the opportunity to submit and then develop innovations for new sports applications with potential in the robust sports-technology department. Ideas Britain in particular is the app that allows for this innovation to happen. Snaptivity is looking to become Ideas Britain’s most recent success story — as Amit Pate (Snaptivity founder) said: “‘Ideas Britain gave us the unique opportunity to connect with brands like Manchester City, receive funding and gain access to knowledge and expertise that a young entrepreneur could only dream of.’” Snaptivity seems as if it could be poised for success because who doesn’t go to a sporting event praying that they end up on the jumbotron?
Congrats to @snaptivity who won the #mcfc-supported @IdeasBritain #insport competition!
https://t.co/DE8xHCRY50
— Manchester City FC (@MCFC) May 26, 2016
Although City of Manchester Stadium will be the guinea pig for Snaptivity, Ideas Britain’s most recent endorsement definitely seems to have staying potential.