Technology in sports

Technology in Sports

Sports has been apart of our culture and many other culture since the beginning of time. It is one of those rare things that has the power to bring people together and set aside all their differences and allow them to be on the same team. Sports is continuing to change and evolve  through its rules, regulations, dynamics and overall perception behind the game. The beauty behind sports is that it will always remain true to its roots. One reasoning to why we are seeing these changes is through the involvement of technology. We are living in a time in where we are all consumed by technology and even has found its way to affect the sports we come to love. Whether it's through the scoreboards at games, the broadcast booth, what goes on inside the locker room, or even through the equipment players use. Not all technological innovations are provide  negativity, there are some advances that have shown to have help make the games to be more safe and fair. In this blog, I am hoping for you to come out of this and be aware of all the technology that is involved in the Sports Industry and have a better understanding of these innovation.

Technology has allowed to provide a safer and more fair game-playing environment among any sport.  In the NFL and NHL, players have been introduced with “smart helmets”. Since, these are the two main contact sports aside from Rugby, Boxing, and UFC who do not use any type of protective gear for the head, body, or other specific areas. Both the NFL and NHL, but mostly the NFL have faced much backlash recently for all the untreated concussions that have been fatal for many of their players in years past. The way medical staffs and how the NFL and NHL treated concussions and other head trauma injuries was believed to be behind all of this. The NFL and NHL responses by establishing new policies and Rules that takes these head injuries more serious. The real problem has always been the helmets being used. Through many experimental studies the helmets being used have been seen to make a greater chance of injuring your head. According to Sam Cohen of the Huffington Post, Riddell, the manufacturer of the many helmets  being used in the NFL have launched a new more safer and advanced helmet that will help protect the players and address all these head trauma injuries. The specs behind these smart helmets are “introducing a new sensor and magnet technology into this equipment. The sensors detect and disperse the force of collisions, while the magnet will help by spreading and absorbing the force.” Although, concussions and other head injuries are continuing to occur we are seeing a lower level compared to the years past. If it wasn’t for the involvement of technology we could have continued to seen our favorite players continue to get hurt and jeopardize both their careers and lives.

Another way technology has revolutionized the sports landscape is through implement of  instant replays. This system of allowing us to capture a moment, a play more than once has helped the integrity and total fairness of the game. All sports used the instant replay. It is the most used for referees who have to come to a decision for challenges in the game. They can also use instant replays to highlight or showcase something spectacular like one handed catches, Dunks, robbing homeruns, bicycle kicks, etc. I can’t imagine how unfair these games would have continued to have been if we didn’t introduce the instant replay. There is a particular event that I remember my dad talks to this day. On November 11, 1985 the San Francisco 49ers faced the Denver Broncos in a snowy blizzard day. Due to the weather circumstances this game was so close that it resulted in every Touchdown or Field Goal to be very vital. The 49ers were set to hit a field goal in the final seconds of the 4th quarter that would’ve won the game if it wasn’t for a Bronco fan who threw a snowball at the football holder. The holder mistook it for the football and it miscued everything. It ultimately lead to the 49ers missing the field goal and losing the game. Instant Replay wasn’t a thing back then. The referees couldn’t tell because it was snowing at the moment, but many viewers including my father remember seeing that snowball. 20 years, we are able to rewatch this game and see that this magic snowball was true. If that were to happen in today's games. The referees would’ve been able to use instant replay to see how unfair this play was and throw some kind of flag/foul on the Broncos. I’m sure there were many games like these back then.

  Within the locker rooms, the number one thing that all players and coaches do is prepare themselves for their opponents.  This is where players go over drills and playbook so when they are on the field they are all on the same page. When studying for an opponent's, back then they would have to rely on the scouts of their teams/ Later as time progressed through the involvement of technology they are able use real game footage. All this preparedness gets both teams ready and leads to a better, more competitive game. How many times did you see when Tom Brady or Peyton Manning after a drive goes and sits down on the bench and picks up a big blue tablet that shows what he just did wrong 10 seconds ago or what he could improve? Not only are these players are being affected, so are the fans. Thanks to the new technological innovations in the way we record a game. We are now able to see any sports game in the best quality from the luxury of our couch. We are able to have multi-camera angles, broadcasting, and be where the action is throughout the game. That is a big upgrade compared to 60 years ago when our grandparents were only able to listen to the world series through the radio and only can imagine what was going on.

For the future of technology in sports, I’m sure we will still continue to upgrade and find a way to make these sports more safer and sufficient and provide integrity of the game. There is a boundary when it comes to technology and sports. I don’t suggest we incorporate robot umpires behind the plate, courtside, or anywhere at all. This the biggest each sport has become ever since they were created. NBA,MLB, NFL, FIFA, UFC, etc are all seeing the high rates in these days and it evident through the incorporation of these sports collabing with technologies. We as sports fans should be lucky for what have right now. It is a nice balance of the two. Should we continue to implement technology to our sports or just leave as it is? Or are these technology aspects that we are already exposes to have already went against the integrity behind the game?