One of the things that I miss most about the Pride, was the ref cam. It’s kind of silly to say that, with the laundry list of aspects of Pride to miss. Something such as a camera angle is silly, but man, it was awesome. There’s just an undeniable quality that’s so striking when you see a first-person perspective from the ref, while he is looking down at an unconscious fighter. It’s very unsettling, yet it’s something that you can’t take your eyes off of.
I think part of the reason why I enjoy it so much is that it’s not perfect. The majority of the time, one of the fighters isn’t in the frame — rarely both are in the frame perfectly. With MMA today, everything is so condensed into this perfect format, and I totally appreciate that. However it just somehow feels less romantic that way. Maybe I’m just looking back at it with rose-colored glasses, that’s entirely possible but man, I miss the ref cam. I miss Pride.
That’s exactly what this video of an AHL ref does to me, check it out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEBoOr12BrI