A huge crowd for Minnesota United’s first home match in MLS went home with a keepsake thanks to some cutting-edge technology.
35,403 fans turned out for United’s home opener against fellow expansion side Atlanta United on Sunday evening, the largest crowd for a Minnesota soccer match in 33 years. Despite a thick snowfall and the temperature being a record 19 degrees at kickoff, a plan to capture a massive interactive picture of the crowd went off without a hitch.
United worked with Fancam.com, a South African company that specializes in capturing huge panoramic images of sporting events. TheĀ 3D interactive that they produce images often exceed 20 gigapixels. To put that in perspective, it would take an array of HD TVs 30 stories tall and two football fields long to natively display an image of that size.
If you braved the elements and made it to the match on Sunday, you won’t want to miss the chance to dig around in the image to find yourself and your seat mates. While the snow does add a bit of a grainy look to the final image, the resolution is staggering. From the pitch-side premium seats to the nosebleeds in the upper deck, individual facesĀ are remarkably clear.
Check out the epic image here.
Did you manage to find yourself in the picture? If so, let us know!