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Four Ways Technology is Changing Sports Officiating

mentalfloss.com — Tennis, Soccer, Baseball and other sports have been enhanced through technology.

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  • AtomBoyz, on 01/04/2008, -0/+2I think Video Replay has been one of the the most important technologies in all sports, especially when the play is close.
  • MikeonTV, on 01/05/2008, -0/+2Gatorade not on the list?
  • Bukowsky, on 01/05/2008, -0/+1There have been so many calls reversed because of Instant Replays. Definitely a good thing for the game.
  • NachoBusiness, on 01/05/2008, -0/+1After a particularly bad spot, I was talking to a buddy about whether they could use a RFID-like system to calculate the exact inch a football got to on a play. He is working a doctorate in computer science I assume since he says it's possible, that it is possible.

    This system would be so great. If you really watch football, the spots can be incredibly arbitrary. The offensive player obviously tries to put the ball as far forward as possible, even further than it was when they went down, then the ref runs in and puts it back a foot or so... it generally ends up within a foot or two of where it actually got before the player was down, but if you think about it, that's way too much. Over the course of a drive, the line of scrimage, the first down... they all drift by a yard or more from what they should be. When the chain gang comes out to measure a first down, they're basically working with two spots that are arbitrary guesses and usually just accurate to a foot or two. This matters because so many plays come down to inches.

    So if a RFID system could set first downs and forward progress (and thus, lines of scrimmage) to the nearest inch, there'd be very little drift... and if your team came up an inch short, you'd know it was really an inch short, not just the unlucky result of the previous 10 or 12 arbitrary spots the ball was placed at on the last drive.

    I've never heard anyone really propose this, but it seems like it would be a great development. Perhaps the NFL doesn't want to admit how much luck is involved in a drive... get good spots and you make first downs... get bad ones and you're always coming up inches short.
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