“Hobby” is the word used by both Ben Crawford and Graeme Kilgour when speaking to Courier Sport.
They have both dipped their toes into creating content for the love of the game – and they’ve both made a success of it.
Crawford is a Dunfermline Athletic supporter – most of his YouTube videos reflect that but he has also covered other clubs’ matches.
He has recently made the move to TikTok.
Kilgour, along with co-hosts and fellow Rovers fans Angus Shepherd, Stu Kirk, Scott Flemming and Blair Hopcroft, volunteers for radio station K107FM.
He puts together the Saturday Sports Show and covers Raith but gives attention to the likes of Kirkcaldy Rugby Club, Fife Flyers and Kirkcaldy & Dysar.
‘People actually listen to it’
Kilgour runs his own company, Right Track Training, but makes sure there is time for his labour of love.
“Its a hobby more than anything else, we don’t do it for anything other than enjoyment,” he said.
“We talk about Raith Rovers and people actually listen to it.”
It was also for the joy of doing so that Crawford got involved.
He was influenced by the likes of English Youtuber Thogden – who recently passed 1 million subscribers – and Motherwell supporter Goggsy.
“It was just a hobby at the time when I was a bit younger,” he said.
“I have to admit, the first few I did weren’t fantastic. I wasn’t really talking much during them.”
Awards nomination
At the start of the 2019/2020 season he set himself a goal: “My ultimate aim was to get to the Football Content awards finals.”
He hit that target, bagging a nomination for best young content creator category.
That was pre-Covid and he had success in that time with a Dundee derby video when United ran out 6-2 winners.
It remains his most popular video on the channel and he still gets messages about it
Some Youtubers have reported some disdain from those around them in the gound, Crawford found the opposite.
“Even to this day people still come up to me,” he added.
“At the recent Queen of the South match – away from home, you’re not really expecting to be noticed apart from the people you know within the Dunfermline fan base.
“I came onto the concourse and Queen of the South young boys asked for a picture because they recognised me.”
Award-winning
Kilgour and his team also had some success during lockdown – within a year of the show kicking off.
During the pandemic he was approached by the station to make a sports show and jumped at the chance for “selfish reasons”.
In their first year they took bronze in the community sports show of the year category at the National Community Radio Awards.
They also featured in a few trade publications for their innovative use of Twitter Space.
The Raith Rovers part of the show is recorded this way, allowing a phone-in format and a “live feel” when broadcast on a Saturday.
‘Emotional’ Twitter Space
During lockdown it also led to former players completely throwing themselves into it.
“We were the first community radio show to do that and a few broadcast magazines did a few article about it.
“It was good to get the football phone-in style.
“And because we record on a Thursday and it goes out on a Saturday it gives us that live feel.
“On our first night we got former players Mark Ferry and Marco Pelosi.
“They both got involved and Mark Ferry had been on a day out.
“It was a Friday we did it, he’d had a couple of beers and he started getting emotional about his time there!”
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