Is Technology Ruining Sports?
I decided to take a slight departure from my usual rants about nature and the cosmos to delve into a lesser-known passion of mine: Sports. And if you were to see me walking down the street, you’d think, “There’s no chance that guy is athletic.” And you’d be right. But I’d kick your butt in Star Wars trivia… that much I do know. So, why would you want to listen to anything a nerd like me has to say about sports. And to you, I would ask, “Who do you think is behind all the technological enhancements in whatever sport you like? Be it stats, graphics, instant replay technology, player safety… I could go on.” So to you folks, I say “You’re welcome. And now… hear me out.”
Hockey Enthusiasts will remember with great disdain the year the National Hockey League introduced the glowing puck. In an effort to appeal to a new audience, the league thought that creating a puck, complete with infrared emitters, a shock sensor, and an embedded circuit board, giving the puck it’s glow, would be a game-changer. It was, but not in the way the NHL had hoped.
A year after FIFA introduced one of its newest technology implementations, the semi-automated offside tool, it has decided to begin thinking about other technologies that can be used to improve the game. However, many fans are concerned, and rightly so, that as more tech continues to find its way onto the field, the authenticity of the game will find itself in peril.
