Sports and technology. It’s a combination that can seem a bit mismatched at first, but when you look at how far our sports viewing experience has come over time, it’s really quite amazing.
If you go back far enough in the history of sport there are legends that we can only imagine. Games which never had a second of footage captured, players who are simply names and numbers to us now.
Not so today. Technology has made our sport up close and personal. Sometimes it’s a little too personal. I’ve seen close-ups of players losing their lunch on field more times than I’d like to in my life – and for the record, the number of times I’d like to see that is zero.
All things considered though, technological advances have massively improved our sports-watching. For me it’s a great feeling to know that technology will preserve the great games and achievements of the modern day for years to come, that I’ll be able to watch them again even as an old man.
Arguably one of the biggest ways that modern technology improves our sports watching experience is in giving us an appreciation of how incredibly fit our athletes are, thanks to innovations like GPS tracking of athletes.
It’s one thing to see a football player make a quick spring up the ground on TV, but it’s another thing all together to look at the data put up on them by GPS tracking.
When we’re looking at them we’re impressed with the fitness they’re showing, but it’s when we’re not looking at them that they’re arguably showing off their fitness to the greatest extent – always chasing the play or running into position.
Work off the ball, one of those things it’s hard to track with a camera, is captured very neatly.
In genuine endurance sports like distance running and cycling we usually already have an understanding of how fit those participating are. Still, seeing the raw numbers just always seems to make it more impressive.
GPS data shows us the hard yards that players are putting in that most of us wouldn’t otherwise notice and gives a whole new appreciation for the amazing fitness they develop through their intense training.
Le Tour de France wouldn’t be the same without knowing that cyclists worked for over an hour to pedal at a speed of over 70km/h. As a mere mortal, it’s sometimes hard to believe the data being crunched out.
Even on opposite sides of the globe today’s technologies can give us the feeling of being right in the action. Also, new technologies are giving us insights into sport that you just don’t get from watching with the naked eye.
In 1888 for the first time the photo finish was introduced to racing – probably the first major technological development in sport. Can you imagine not having it today?
Or consider 1955, when instant replay screens began to be used for the first time. Admittedly, no matter how many replays we get these days people still heckle the referee.
In many sports nowadays you will get find players given microphones before or during the match. It’s a great insight into the game.
All too often we tend to think of our sportspeople as being larger than life, when really they’re just people. Listening to the chatter on a mic can really remind you of that.
Of course, sometimes today’s audio equipment picks up a bit more than what the players would probably like you to hear. Nick Kyrgios could probably tell you more about that, though he’d probably better off taking a look at his heart rate monitor.
Increasingly creative use of cameras continues to give us new ways of looking at the action. Whether it’s a slow motion replay of an incident too fast for the eye, or a spidercam-style view from above, we’re viewing our sport in new and different ways.
Technology also – in theory – can make our sport a bit more accurately officiated. Most sports have some sort of video review system now, though like the umpiring itself, the decisions are never universally liked.
The AFL’s goal review system for example has ranged from an inconvenience to a laughing stock at times. On the other hand, some of the innovations brought into cricket like the snickometer or the hot spot can do a lot to make decisions more accurate.
On top of that, it can improve the coverage of events on TV or online dramatically, giving us a pin-point precise way to follow competing athletes progress, and also a greater appreciation for just how much ground they’re covering.
These technologies aren’t perfect, and sometimes they’re subject to a bit of misuse. They can be the cause of massive controversy. Still, when they’re used right, they improve our sport, and they make for great TV.
Who knows what technological advances we’ll see in the future? Virtual reality technology is coming along in leaps and bounds. I look forward to the day when we can slip on a headset and find ourselves right in the game.
And hey, maybe someday they’ll even sort out the score review. We can dream.
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