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Football is a thrilling sport filled with hard hits, tight spirals, and ridiculous end-zone celebrations. While there have been tweaks to the rules over the last decade, though, the elements of how the game is played haven’t changed much. The technology that delivers this sport — and especially the Big Game — to the world, however, have changed drastically. And for the better.
Now, crushing blows make you jump and dazzling plays make your eyes widen as you get lost in the battle thanks to the latest at-home technology like a brand spanking new 4K Ultra-HD TV. But seeing the game is about more than seeing the game. It’s also about the stats, the multiple angles you see on your new screen and getting a closer look to see if your team really failed to get control of the ball on a 4th and long heave. In short, America’s gridiron love affair is strengthened by those presentation elements (and others) that technological advances have brought into our homes. And with that in mind, here are five ways technology has influenced the game of football.
5. John Madden And His Telestrator
From 1979-2008, nothing brought an NFL game home more than when former player/coach/grown man-child, John Madden used TV telestrator technology to tag up your television with handwriting worse than a doctor to break down the Xs and Os. His off-the-cuff tangents were the true gift, though. Like that time he taught us all what happens when two Gatorade buckets really love each other.
4. NFL Films & On-Field Wireless Microphones
Remember those slow, cinematic, poetic sequences that NFL Films famously introduced into the arena of sports thanks to the dedication of the late Ed Sabol and later, his son Steve (who also passed away)? The presentation was legendary, turning football players into gladiators and pairing those moments with the dulcet baritone of the “Voice Of God” (aka former Philadelphia Eagles announcer John Facenda) to showcase the gridiron grace of these warriors.
The gang at NFL Films was also responsible for putting the first wireless microphones on players and coaches on the field. The first player to wear a wireless mic was Bill Saul, a Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker in 1967. And ever since, this advent has added a layer to the game that has brought fans down into the action in a new way. Have any doubt that mic’ing up players is a good thing? Watch the montage of player reactions from the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens during the Big Game a few years ago when “The Blackout” occurred. It’s riveting.
3. Virtual Graphics
Before 1998, when Sportvision unveiled their “yellow line” technology called 1st And Ten during a Bengals-Ravens game, people had to rely on the voices of the game to figure out if a team had gotten a first down. (So much work.) The introduction of a CG line of scrimmage made it even easier for fans to follow the game at home, regardless of how many beers they’d had. And the networks have been building on that success ever since.
Now, when you watch a game you’re seeing all sorts of graphics on screen — play clocks, the number of time outs, pop-up stat trackers. In cases of extreme weather, an entire field with virtual numbers and yard markers can be projected on-screen to display over foggy or white out conditions, letting viewers follow despite Mother Nature’s wrath. Something that could never happen at a live game. It’s to such an extent that you could probably coach a game from your sofa… but then again, you already knew you had the skills to do that.
Last season, Fox adopted augmented-reality technology to a bring 3D quality graphics to the game, mimicking what kids see when they play Madden. So now video games are driving TV innovation versus the other way around. Makes you excited for what’s coming down the pipeline next.
2. The Advent Of Instant Replay
When you have a stunning 4K TV to watch a football game, everything can feel right with the world. Until you have a clear view of an epic botched call that threatens to wreck your day and your team’s season. Thank goodness for the safeguard that is instant replay.
Implemented in 1986 (after years of experimentation and angst over the cost and unreliable tech), instant replay kickstarted a change in the NFL that wasn’t fully realized until 1999.
You really can’t overstate the importance: instant replay settles scores and determines if a fumble has occurred or if a player’s toes managed to stay in bounds. It also has the power to diffuse situations that would otherwise cause people to come to blows in America’s living rooms and sports bars.
1. An Abundance Of Cameras That’ll Help You Get A Virtual POV
In 2015, there were 40 cameras filming the Big Game. In 2016, there were 70 cameras. For this year’s main event on Sunday, February 5 in Houston at NRG Stadium, Fox Sports is going big yet again, unveiling “Be the Player” technology, a virtual POV enhancement for the very first time — which will reconstruct play action as if it’s coming from any player on the field. (All this without strapping one camera onto a player.) They’ll only need about 38 cameras across the field to generate these 15-30 second clips. You can see the technology on display right here.
Add this to the Skycam (the cable-suspended camera system that shoots captivating mid-air tracking shots), drone cams, POV cameras affixed to goal posts, booths, and tunnels, and this year’s NFL championship game should, once again, be a pure spectacle that you have to watch.