Chapter Text
Being the center of attention is not Jobe Bellingham's strongest suit. It's honestly too stressful to be placed under so much scrutiny and the pressure to continuously perform were definitely exhausting, which is why he always ended up running away whenever his name comes up during any discussion. Maybe if he had learned a thing or two from his brother about accepting and processing unwanted attention, he wouldn't be taking an art degree abroad just to escape expectations.
The other thing Jobe avoids aside from being perceived by strangers is, weirdly enough, sports. With an enviable height and athletic body, it's rather strange to think that he was not interested in being a semi-professional athlete at some point in his life. It's not like Jobe hates sports, he does watch games whenever he's bored and do casual ones for fun, it's just that he isn't fanatic enough to buy merchandises and follow athletes on social media like what everybody's doing. Also not a big fan of training for hours on end if he may add. Having grown up in a sports-oriented family with more than enthusiastic members, Jobe may have had enough of jolting awake at 3AM because the team his parents were rooting for scored a goal and having his skull cracked because his brother wanted to try his hands on basketball on a random weekday. All he wanted was a little peace and mundanity. However, he keeps up with mainstream tournament updates just for the sake of it. The only sport he knows the rules by heart is football and to be fair, it's more influenced by family affairs than personal taste. Not like he had any other choice.
So he thought, by studying a subject that his family has no interest in, miles away from his hometown and anyone who could recognize him, he would be hitting all the birds with one stone. Unfortunately life doesn't work that way.
The first time Jobe was shoved under the limelight on foreign soil was during a match between home team Bayern Munich v Schalke on a random Friday night.
The Allianz Arena was already roaring with fans from both teams occupying every available seat when Jobe arrived. He thought he'd come pretty early but clearly underestimated the power of fan dedication.
Somehow, he got himself dragged to the game because of a project that his professor insisted he take on since he's a guest student and exposure to the local sport scene would be a great exchange experience, or so he said. The task was simple enough: document everything you see. And with the university connections, Jobe received a press pass in less than a day and off he goes.
Wearing the bright blue bib with large 'PHOTO/PRESS' printed on it, matching with the other journalists and photographers surrounding the field, and even sitting with them behind the LED banners, Jobe suddenly felt reality sinking in. It's the first time he had ever taken on a challenge of this calibre, of this size. He had went to football matches in person before but never as someone directly involved with the preparations on the ground so it was both scary yet exciting to be so near the pitch as a non-player.
Jobe pushed his glasses up, set up his tripod for the video camera and changed his lens for the main DSLR hanging around his neck. Soon enough, the crowd came back to life with thunderous screams when players emerged from the main tunnel, clad in their club jackets and bibs for their warmup. The athletes went straight into action once they occupied the green grass and so did the press, shutters going off like crazy from every direction.
Everything went without a hitch so far. The footages captured from both Jobe's cameras were great, or at least up to his standard and the other photographers were nice enough to share helpful tips once they realized he's just a student and not doing this professionally. Everything was going along too smoothly and that's why Jobe was unnerved.
The fact that he wasn't shoved outside his comfort zone up until this point didn't sit well with him.
The opening ceremony and kick-off also progressed as boringly as it could get so all Jobe had to do was hang in there for the next 90 minutes.
Just as Jobe was wondering when the great streak would stop, the dreaded problem came in the form of someone collapsing not far from where he's positioned.
The ground staff was quick to crowd over so that the spectators could focus back on the game that's nearing the halftime break but the a slight commotion were already on the way.
"…in Ohnmacht fallen-"
"-herzinfarkt!"
Jobe could hear the ruckus but unable to grasp exactly what happened so he looked around to see if anyone could tell him what's going on and the Austrian photographer next to him kindly explained the situation although he was in shock as well.
"It seems that the camera operator is having a heart attack."
True to his word, there was a man lying unconscious on the ground while a group of medic made their way to the guy in a rush. The gigantic broadcasting camera setup was left unmanned but that's the least of everyone's worry right now. Just as the audience nearest to them were starting to grow curious, the opposite side of the stadium grew increasingly loud as the ball approached the goal post on the other end of the field, which diverted the spectators' attention momentarily.
A brilliant goal was made by the Bayern team right before the halftime and shouts of every kind filled the arena. At the same time, the guy who passed out was carried away on a stretcher after he was cleared from critical condition, leaving behind a distraught media team nearby.
Jobe went back to minding his own business because all of a sudden, his trouble-detecting senses were tingling nonstop. He's grateful that his German language skills were on par with a 5-month old baby so he could pretend the shouts of orders behind his back meant nothing.
Suddenly, the middle-aged Austrian guy tapped Jobe's shoulder gently. Not wanting to be rude to someone who had kindly shared information and conversed briefly for the past hour, Jobe politely faced him with a tense smile.
"Have you used that before?"
His eyes were directed to the intimidatingly huge broadcasting camera a few steps away from them, complete with its uncomfortable chair and messy cables stuck to the main body. Jobe was not particularly interested but it did bring back valuable childhood memories. Back when his brother played for his youth football club at Birmingham, Jobe would sneak away to one of the many cameras on the higher platforms and learned many tricks from the kind videographers who showed him the ropes. He could vividly remember the thrill of capturing a fancy bicycle kick that made his mentors so proud.
"Yeah," Jobe softly answered with a tiny smile, still reminiscing the time he was allowed to capture the game that his brother was playing in. "But it's been a while and I'm not sure if I still remem-"
Before he could even finish, the Austrian gentleman was suddenly speaking Deutsch to one of the multimedia staff and clearly pointing at Jobe.
Maybe he should have kept his mouth shut after all.
"Can you operate for the next 30 minutes?" A guy wearing headphones, twisted lanyard, and clad in black jacket came closer to their corner with a clearly haggard face and grabbed Jobe's shoulder without leaving a chance to escape. "Replacements will arrive in that time. Just shoot any footage. Following the ball is enough."
Statistically speaking, it's hard to believe that among this many photographers, there wasn't anybody else aside Jobe who could use a broadcasting camera. But again, they were here to do their job of catching the action with their own gears. And it's not like they're getting extra points for volunteering, which Jobe might get from his professor.
"...sure." Jobe finally relented and packed up his DSLR before following the media guy to his new task. The whistle blowed, signalling the start of the break time for the players but the end of Jobe's peaceful night.
Lowering himself on the metallic seat, Jobe could see the 'cheat sheets' displayed all over the screen display. There were print-outs of players' faces, names, and jersey numbers, button directory and instructions written in German with many post-it notes surrounding the main screen. Jobe decided to disregard the mess and let his muscle memory take over his body as he reached out for the handle.
After contemplating on what to say and most likely frustrated that he couldn't translate so much in such a short amount of time, the stressed out staff finally exhaled and simply said "Just shoot anything" before rushing to the media control room on the upper floor. There's still 5 other cameras on standby anyway so he couldn't be bothered to explain the mechanism to a complete stranger.
Ignoring the headphones because he wouldn't understand the instructions anyway, Jobe went straight to work and monitored the display to compare it with the viewfinder. Since his position was behind Bayern's goal post, there's really not much he could capture aside from decisive shots and corner kicks but he wanted to experiment. Not exactly the time and place to play around but when else would he have the chance to tinker with an equipment this expensive and at such prestigious event with zero consequence? He glanced to the jumbotron and saw his camera feed being shown to the entire stadium and Jobe tested the zoom and speed in real time to match the movement of his gear by filming the crowd.
The players returned back on the pitch once the break was over and everybody cheered excitedly for the start of second half.
Schalke advanced more aggressively after the halftime, charging and tackling like there's no tomorrow. It didn't seem like the players even cared that they were being called out for fouls and getting yellow cards as time went on. Although Bayern didn't allow them to run rampant by butting heads with equally damaging offence, their lowered defence created an opportunity for Schalke to score a goal through a free kick.
Crowd went wild, people throwing cups and food in the air, Jobe could swear something wet hit his hair but chose to ignore it for the sake of his sanity. Only thing he could do now was wish that whoever was supposed to take over this position would arrive sooner.
With the score tied 1-1 and time nearing its 80th minute, the tension was stifling even for the ground crew. Finally, Jobe saw a guy running from the staff tunnel and rushed straight at his direction. Smiling for the first time today, Jobe stretched his stiff arms and legs before switching places with the guy.
He trudged back to his stool and tripod, being welcomed by the Austrian guy with two thumbs-up for his effort.
"That goal shot was spectacular!"
Before Jobe could offer any reply, there was suddenly a commotion near them and it wasn't from the fellow photographers.
Just meters away inside the penalty box, there's an altercation between players that had escalated from verbal dispute to physical confrontation. They were pushing one another without any resolution in sight, referee being occupied by the captains of both teams trying to argue and stopping the game momentarily.
One of the Bayern players, jersey number 17, ended up limping away to avoid aggravating the situation while definitely cursing his opponent out loud, having been hurt by a fierce tackle just seconds ago. That seemed to trigger the nearby Schalke players which caused 4 of them to run up and shove the guy in blinded anger.
Unable to maintain balance from the unexpected push, the guy ended up tripping, rolling on the grass, and banging the back of his head against the LED banner fence right in front of Jobe. Even that wasn't enough to satisfy the rage of the players as they continued pursuing to circle the fallen player. Seeing that the guy took a split second too long to react, Jobe's immediate reaction was to pick him up in case the guy really fainted.
Jobe grabbed the guy in red uniform by his arms and waist, lifted him over the fence barrier and placed the injured man behind his back. True to his suspicion, the Schalke players were already trying to jump over the fence, knocking his tripod in the process. Stages of grief passed over Jobe's head for his fallen device but couldn't properly mourn when fuming men high on adrenaline was invading the photographer section just to get even.
"Inside the field! Settle with the ref! In the box!" Jobe shouted while holding off the sweaty players while the other photographers and journalists evaded the best they can to save their expensive equipments. The steak he had for dinner and Monster drink really helped with the energy supply because if he were to fight these bulldozers on an empty stomach, he would be the next victim to the whole chaos. Thankfully, the other Bayern players soon realized this commotion and dragged their opponents back inside the lines. It's a miracle that no fist fights broke out under such circumstance.
Seeing his chance, Jobe turned back to the injured player now sitting on his stool with a slightly dazed expression. He crouched down instantly to check if there's any open wound and found no signs of bleeding thankfully.
"Can you hear me?!" Jobe had to scream against the massive shouts from the stands in protest of the brawl.
The man nodded albeit slightly unsure why he's even there, amongst the press and not in the field.
"Hold your head still and follow my finger with your eyes. Can you do that?" Jobe once again instructed before pulling up his forefinger. To whichever direction his finger went, the athlete's eyes followed properly, must have been used to the occasional checks performed by professionals.
"Which team scored first today?" Jobe asked while inspecting any visible injuries on the other's face. Then his eyes travelled down to the athlete's affected leg, a nasty bump already starting to form around the ankle.
"Uh-… us?" a low, uncharacteristically calm voice replied in slight confusion.
"Who's us?"
"Bayern. I scored."
Jobe sighed in relief and finally looked around for the medic team that should have arrived ages ago. Instead of guys carrying emergency kit, it was another player from Bayern Munich who approached them.
"How's it looking?"
This person Jobe knows. Captain of the England national football team, Harry Kane, was jumping over the fence to check on his member. The guy seemed momentarily surprised to see Jobe but didn't want to waste time on small talks when a more important matter was at hand.
"Can't be too sure but for now I don't see signs of concussion. The ankle is definitely swelling since it's the same leg that got tackled but I'm no expert in that department. Should definitely get it iced as soon as possible."
Kane nodded appreciatively and patted Jobe on the shoulder. He craned his neck towards where the manager and staff standing by the sideline bench to signal for help. Then he patted his injured teammate on his head.
"Let's try standing up, Michael."
After several unsuccessful attempts to stand on his own, Michael Olise could only get back on his good foot with the support of Harry's arm. The two finally made it over the fence with great difficulty and joined the ruckus on the field again.
There was so many things going on in the background as the referee issued a red card, several players protesting the decision, others unsatisfied with just one red card, the audience going ballistic in the stands, and medical staff scurrying over with a stretcher just in case.
Jobe saw everything with disinterest because his heart wasn't in it anymore. He spared a glance to his fallen camera by his feet, still attached to the tripod firmly, but fallen nonetheless. His heart wouldn't be able to handle the ache when seeing all the scratches and possible crack on his recently-bought lens. The blinking red light indicated that recording was still in progress but was it really worth it?
Looking back at the mess on the field with contempt, Jobe was surprised to see that a pair of eyes were already locked on him.
Red jersey, 17, Olise.
The gaze was so intense that Jobe had to question himself if he did anything wrong during the very brief moment he had checked on the player. Before he could wonder further, Michael Olise turned away as he limped back to the benches with the help of his teammates.
As the game continued, Jobe didn't have the motivation to shoot any more footages and opted to hatewatch the rest of the match in an act of rebellion. For his camera, for the labour he didn't sign up for, for the mess of getting involved with angry players and possibly getting his face blasted on the internet.
With additional injury time, Bayern managed to add two more to the tally, pushing them to an undisputed lead. There's less than 2 minutes left on the clock and with Bayern players still holding on to a massive grudge, the possibility of Schalke scoring in that period would be zero. Hatewatch successful at least.
The final whistle was blown and the first game of this season's bundesliga finally ended with the victory of Bayern Munich.
Before that, Jobe was already packed and ready to leave with all his gears neatly secured and strapped to his body. To hell with the closing ceremony and interviews. The reason he stayed was purely to make sure those bastards who damaged his baby didn't have a chance to miraculously score and maybe to catch one last glimpse of a particular player in red jersey sitting alone on the bench as the rest of his mates celebrate the win.
Munchen Angel @bayernreyab_
THAT TACKLE WAS VILLLEEEEEEEE!!!! WHAT DID OLISE EVEN DO TO YALL?!?!? AND THAT SHOVE?!?!?!? HIS HEAD!! HIT!! THAT MF!! BARRIER!!! FUCKKKKKK
starboilove @larperqueen
i was stressin the entire game like did you see how they tried to pull harry's nonexistent hair? super unprofessional
KANES @cray-crayfish
why is harry catching strays T.T
Blabbermouth @tupperwarewarrior
if mike has to be benched for the next game someones gonna catch these hands
babydolla~ @_timestandstill_
so glad someone actually did something before he got jumped and we see a murder attempt broadcasted live
Munchen Angel @bayernreyab_
random mister photographer thank you for not ignoring my son (stink eyeing other staff who did nothing)
diamondGenius @luxuryball88
not to be that person but a single cameraman holding off 4 professional athletes is buzzzyyyy af might stan
Munchen Angel @bayernreyab_
GREAT POINT OOMF
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[FOOTBALL DISCUSSION-BUNDESLIGA] By: AnonymousFrisbee
Bayern's Win, Schalke's Revolt, and The Weird Footage Quality Improvement in The Middle of the Match: Let's Break it Down
I mean, were we surprised by the results? Bayern Munich's lineup this time around is mighty solid and honestly Schalke put up a tremendous fight which brings us the 3-1 final score. The first half was very well-paced by the Bayern's side, gauging their opponent's new format while also securing the first goal was definitely their style of doing things. Although that one missed shot from Ibrahimovich could have boosted the team morale a bit more (at the 21st minute for anyone needing a timestamp), it was still a great attempt nonetheless. And we expected nothing less from Olise for bagging that point just before halftime with a graceful assist from Kimmich. Overall the teamwork was out of this world, no notes.
Schalke04 was spectacular in their defence and Karius deserves all the flowers as he definitely held it together for the team. Because of Bayern's intense offence, they were not able to approach the opposite side of the field for the first half, which is totally understandable. Head Coach Muslić must have changed the gears in that locker room and Schalke came back to the second half with 'murder' as their ultimate goal. It was full offense from there on, players spawning everywhere and breaking the almost impenetrable walls of the Bayern team like cannon balls. I have to applaud the entire squad for making insane long passes look easy and dribbling past the defences to secure that point on the 68th minute. I can understand the tactical shift but why were they suddenly aiming at the other team's feet more than the ball?
And the more interesting question is: what is with the dramatic framing upgrade in the middle of the game? I've been a football fan for almost a decade now, watched thousands of live broadcasts over the years on cable and online. The angles are all predictable and there's really nothing much you can do to improve the quality except for changing the camera with the newest model. But that's not what happened for the behind-goal-post camera on Bayern Munich's side. Even with such restricted angle, it managed to capture movement as clearly as the main camera. It knows when to zoom out for a full action sequence and avoided blind spots so easily. It felt like watching a documentary or a movie than a match, and the control room agreed with me since it's the most used camera for the second half. My favourite part? The 76th minute slow motion shot where the referee was reviewing the VAR and the camera pans to the Schalke team members hungrily eyeing the goal post. Then it zooms out smoothly to show the Bayern guys preparing themselves, loosening stiff muscles and equally voracious to defend. Cherry on top: the camera zooms out again and turns out we were seeing everything from the goalkeeper's akimbo-ed arms and with one last zoom out, we were actually peering through one of the holes on the net. Insanity!
I was so impressed by the camera direction that I did not anticipate the major fight breaking out after. The pressure must have been at an all-time high for the players to be so agitated that 3 different studded cleats made it unto 1 ankle. Fortunately Olise was safely secured before a physical clash could happen (although I have never seen a ground crew getting directly involved before). It would also be a bad rep on Schalke's side too if they end up attacking another player at the heat of the moment so thankfully it never reached that point. The red card was expected but I wish the others involved would be fouled too because sportsmanship looked pretty dead for a few minutes there. Of course, we cannot not talk about the winning goal from Kane (91st min.) and Musiala (94th min.) that pushed the club up the leaderboard. Both shots were so clean that even the opponents couldn't complain.
The overall game was not an ideal match to introduce someone to football but at least there's drama and great cinematography so my final verdict is 7.9/10 . How did you all find the match?
Comments (882)
AnonymousRat04: The only reason I stayed around was for the camera works honestly. Which wrinkly operator should I kiss?
AnonymousPiglet: @AnonymousRat04 my sister was at the tribune last night and she said the photographer who grabbed Olise was the same guy who operated the camera in the second half (??) so no kissing any elderly for you
AnonymousDumpsterFire: From circulating videos and photos, you are right anonpiglet. A young man volunteered to take over the camera during a medical emergency just before halftime and had checked on Olise when he just finished the job, kudos to him!
AnonymousJukebox: anyone has a clearer footage of this mystery photographer? i'd be so mad if he turns out hotter than all these blurry photos make out of him
AnonymousTank: my fav part was the free kick montage. MUSIALA GOAT
AnonymousFlea: Just glad that Olise wasn't dead honestly. From the audience videos, it really seemed like he was gonna get trampled after that nasty shove. Praying the next opponents wouldn't do anything this drastic over verbal provocations
AnonymousSocks: @AnonymousJukebox ngl I heard the guy looked like a Jude Bellingham impersonator and this is a compliment before anyone attacks me
AnonymousPanda: why are all the players so agitated in this game?? was it the heat? truly disappointed
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