Twitch star's football club takeover brings crowd
An amateur football club taken over by a Twitch streamer, who brought virtual glory on the Football Manager videogame, saw a big jump in attendance for his first real-life match.
Aaron Hunt gained thousands of followers streaming his success with his local club Daisy Hill FC, based in Westhoughton, Bolton, on the management simulation game online.
His popularity led to him being invited to step in and become chairman of the North West Counties Football Counties side, which needed financial support.
Daisy Hill usually attracts modest numbers of supporters - about 50 - but their clash with Atherton Laburnum Rovers FC saw well-known YouTuber Angry Ginge and TikTok star Steve Bracknall among a crowd of several hundred.
Mr Hunt was headhunted by manager Lee Hill, in the hope he could replicate his virtual success on the pitch.
Speaking before kick-off, Mr Hunt described the differences between running a virtual club on his computer to the real thing.
"I could do it in my boxers at home, I can't do that here," he said.
"I've got right stuck in though. I have drawn all the lines on the pitches today and that, I want to be proper hands on with it and just help a lot of people in the community as well.
"Everyone's come together as well, you've seen how many people are here."
Mr Hunt said one of the biggest advantages to his appointment was the chance to bring attention and "new eyes" on the club, potentially attracting new sponsorship.
"There's lads who's worked here for 60 years behind the bar and stuff. I don't want to let anyone down. I want to make sure we do it right and do it properly and succeed with it," he said.
His friend Angry Ginge, real name Morgan Burtwistle, said he had attended the match to support Mr Hunt - even as he joked his fellow Twitch streamer was "very underqualified".
"I think he's got the right thing, he's got the right idea, and looking at tonight, if it continues to do this, it can only grow," he said.
Long-time Daisy Hill supporter Susan Ramwell said she was hoping Mr Hunt's appointment could bring "energy" to the club.
She said: "He's certainly brought a lot of buzz around the place, that's for sure. It's never been this busy before, so it can only be for a positive."
Fellow fan Ian Parkinson added: "Any kind of social media exposure is always good for club's at this sort of level."
Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram, and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
'Football Manager success landed me chairman job'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Bonnaroo 2025 cancelled after just one night due to severe storms days after co-founder's death
The remainder of music festival Bonnaroo has been cancelled due to weather just days after the death of one of its co-founders. Set to run through Sunday at Bonnaroo Farm in Manchester, Tennessee, the music festival was cancelled Friday evening after hours of delays and even an evacuation notice. 'Today, the National Weather Service provided us with an updated forecast with significant and steady precipitation that will produce deteriorating camping and egress conditions in the coming days,' Bonnaroo shared via Instagram. 'We are beyond gutted, but we must make the safest decision and cancel the remainder of Bonnaroo.' The festival promised at least partial refunds for all ticket holders, many of whom paid hundreds of dollars to attend. Luke Combs was the only of the four headliners to deliver a performance. He took the stage Thursday night and performed alongside fellow country star Miranda Lambert onstage, as well as Marcus King and Jon Bellion. The other headliners, Tyler, the Creator, Olivia Rodrigo and Hozier, have all had their sets cancelled. Additional performers slated to take the stage included Vampire Weekend, GloRilla, Tyla, Avril Lavigne, Queens of the Stone Age, John Summit, Dom Dolla, and Glass Animals. 'We have put our hearts and souls into making this weekend the most special one of the year, and cannot express how crushed we are to have made this decision,' Bonnaroo's statement concluded. 'Thank you in advance for your patience, your positivity and your unfailing Bonnaroovian spirit.' Many fans were disappointed by the cancellation, with some noting it wasn't the first time in recent years attendees found themselves in this situation. 'Wondering what this means for the future of bonnaroo honestly. 3 cancellations in 5 years isn't looking good for us,' one fan wrote on Instagram. 'First and last bonnaroo. Absolute s*** show, not to mention not a speck of rain was seen after they cancelled,' another shared, while someone else agreed: 'Literally spent THOUSANDS of dollars flying from Hawaii……. first roo and most likely my last.' The fan-favorite festival's last minute cancellation came days after the death of one of its co-founders. Jonathan Mayers, who helped create a number of major American festivals, died earlier this week at 51. No cause of death has yet been announced. In a statement to Billboard, Red Light Management founder Coran Capshaw said: 'This is incredibly tough news for so many of us. Jon was the creative force behind so much of what people experience at Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, and many other events over the years. We're all really going to miss him.' Mayers co-founded promotions company Superfly with partners Rick Farman, Richard Goodstone and Kerry Black in 1996. They hosted their first concert during Mardi Gras. The four worked together to launch Bonnaroo in 2002 after securing the festival site on farmland in Manchester, an hour outside of Nashville. They worked closely with Capshaw's Red Light Management and other industry figures to book headliners, including the Grateful Dead's Phil Lesh and Bob Weir. In 2008, Mayers partnered with Another Planet Entertainment to create the Outside Lands festival in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Mayers left Superfly acrimoniously in 2021, and the following year sued his former partners Farman, Goodstone and Black, accusing them of civil misrepresentation, breach of contract and fraud. Mayers alleged that they had misrepresented the value of his shares in the promotions company. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2023. Superfly said in a statement to Billboard: 'We are heartbroken with the passing of Jonathan. He was a cherished part of Superfly's story, woven into it's history and legacy. In addition to the role he's played in bringing joy to millions, we will miss his razor sharp wit, infectious smile and contagious laugh. No one could light up a room like Jon.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
People Don't Realize Meta's AI App Is Publicly Blasting Their Humiliating Secrets to the World
At this point, we're probably all familiar with the trope of the dirty old uncle who doesn't realize that simping for thirst traps on social shows up on his public feed. Now, in a hilarious 2025 riffs on the phenomenon, users of Meta's AI app are inadvertently posting the most private queries imaginable to what they don't realize is showing up for anyone to see. Released in late April, Meta's "AI assistant" app — really just a flashy chatbot meant to harvest your data — has quickly become a go-to virtual helper for many around the world. Just a month after its release, Meta bragged that its app had surpassed over 1 billion users. There's just one tiny problem: everything you ask Meta's AI is liable to wind up in a public feed for the whole world to laugh at. From when you first log in, the app is eager to get you rolling. The first thing a new user sees is a sparse screen populated with suggested prompts, ranging from "let's get to know each other" and "describe me in three emojis." If an unsuspecting user — say, a granddad not well-versed in tech — decides to start here, they might accidentally stumble into a little "share" icon in the top corner that uploads their query into the app's "discover feed." Given the virtual assistant's life-like voice and instance-based chat sessions, one would be forgiven for thinking that one-on-ones with Meta AI would remain private, no matter what random buttons you click. Meta even addresses this on its website: "as always, you're in control: nothing is shared to your feed unless you choose to post it." Nothing could be further from the truth. A quick survey of the app's discover feed reveals a mountain of exchanges that people are almost certainly not intending to share publicly. Tucked among the now-to-be-expected generative AI slop — stuff like "teen girl walks her raptor on a leash casually," or "Wonder Woman driving a 1965 green mustang fastback" — are scores of chatbot queries with some astonishingly personal information. "How do i [sic] improve my bowel movements," one user asked, for instance. The chatbot responds with some general tips, then explicitly asks for personal details: "what's your current diet and lifestyle like? Any specific issues you're experiencing with bowel movements?" "I have high calestrerol and often strugfle with stool movement is it ralated?" asks the user, with typographical errors throughout. Horrifyingly, if you logged into Meta AI with an existing Facebook or Instagram account, whatever name you have visible on there — your real one, for most users — is visible under your public queries. The unfortunate user struggling with bowel movements, for example, has a profile containing other private questions, like "whats the easiest way to get rid of crabs?" followed up with "is their a reason i keep getten [sic] em?" Like the discover feed, the privacy violations are endless. Other examples we found include teachers generating test questions, users asking for situationship advice, more queries on sexual hygiene, detailed discussions about medical history, and assistance generating a "heartfelt" letter to a judge ahead of a criminal sentencing. Astonishingly, the app also records and uploads voice queries, no matter the length. We found one recording that went on for over an hour, where the conversation drifted from Candace Owens' take on Black Lives Matter to whether or not anyone was actively "trying to kill George Soros" to asking for detailed directions based on the user's current location. Another spent several minutes detailing their tax woes. "What do I do if I made about two hundred thousand last year and I forgot to file taxes," they asked. "If you owe taxes, the IRS will likely send you a notice with the amount due," the chatbot suggests. "Well I'll just wait till [sic] they call me I guess," the user sighs. Other conversations drifted into topics better left for the incognito tab. On one hand, the whole thing reveals the staggering amount of faith people already have in these brand new products — and the extent to which they've quickly become a crutch for many. One user, for example, asked it "what to say to congratulate my niece who graduates from UCLA." At the same time, it also underscores the mammoth responsibility Meta has as the provider of a de facto public service — and the horrifying lack of accountability the company has consistently shown throughout its lifespan. More on Meta: Mark Zuckerberg Is Reportedly Absolutely Furious at His Own Failure
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Eric Adams hops onto Instagram wagon, posts video with contradictory clocks
Time stopped at Gracie Mansion on Monday. We all know Mayor Eric Adams isn't above hopping onto the latest Instagram trend, as he proved once again this week by posting his 'morning routine' for his 126,000 followers. The already-ebbing trend involves filming yourself while preparing for the day ahead. The footage is then spliced together and edited, and corresponding timestamps added. 4 Mayor Adams isn't above making his own smoothies. Instagram/ericadamsfornyc In Adams' post, we get to see Hizzoner shaving, ironing his dress shirt, and making a smoothie for himself. He also filmed himself eating fresh fruit for breakfast, and leaving Gracie Mansion for the Chevrolet Suburban High Country that ferries him around the city. But a standard black-and-white wall clock visible in part of Adams' video appears to show the mayor started his day two hours later than claimed. 4 Mayor Adams 'starts his day very early,' a city hall spokesperson explained. Instagram/ericadamsfornyc As the Mayor is seen preparing his smoothie, for instance, the clock in his expansive kitchen reads 11 a.m., while timestamps on the clip claim the footage was filmed at 9 a.m. A City Hall spokesperson accounted for the apparent time discrepancy, claiming the wall clock's batteries had died shortly before Hizzoner chose to film his daily routine 4 Some of his followers wondered if he had better things to do that morning. Paul Martinka Adams 'starts his day very early,' and the footage 'caught [the clock] at a weird time,' a spokesperson told The Post. 4 Mayor Adams with the ill-timed clock behind him. Instagram/ericadamsfornyc Many Instagram users also spotted the clock disparity, and had to comment. 'Your clocks all say it's around 12 p.m.,' reflected another of Hizzoner's followers. 'Did you mean to say this is your morning routine Turkish time?'
