The global sporting industry has had a love hate relationship with technology that stems back for decades. While at first, the sports world was hesitant about allowing technology and its advances towards procuring a better, safer and more comfortable experience for everyone involved, nowadays the story is quite different. Sports and technology have learned to work together in the best way possible, always thinking about the athletes’ comfort with injury prevention technologies and performance reviewing tools as well as fans’ comfort with features like streaming services and platforms for sports betting online.
But in which ways has technology truly helped the world of sports? Here are our picks for two ways the relationship between sports and technology has given top tier results.
Technology Has Helped Sports Referees With Their Decision Making
Whenever anyone asks me about why technology is important in the world of sports, I usually go back to one scenario in my mind. That Dez Bryant catch against the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Playoff Game in Lambeau between the Packers and the Cowboys. You know it was a fair catch, I know it was a fair catch, everyone in the world of football knows that it was a fair catch, but still, the referees got it wrong, and we had to wait a few more years until the NFL admitted the fault in that mistake. Technology nowadays has helped eradicate these kinds of mistakes and issues in all pro sports. Be it through automatic replay systems, special headpiece communication systems in which referees can communicate with other sports officials when controversy arises and many other alternatives, technology has stepped in to become a sort of fairness vigilante when it comes to sports rulings in events.
For example, in football, with the usage of goal-line technology, which allows for each and every play that crosses the goal line to be examined and determined as legal or not. While before, teams and fans alike would have to rely on a referee’s decision, thanks to technology, a more equal playing ground is ensured, leading to a better and more enjoyable experience for all parties involved. In soccer, the addition of the VAR, or Video Assistant Referee, has also come to drastically change the way in which the sport is played. Thanks to this video assistance system, referees are now able to have a second opinion on all calls made on the field, giving them a chance to change rulings if they see fit or to point something out in particular if given the case and make a ruling. All this has led to a fairer way of playing the sport of soccer, deriving in better matches and more enjoyment for the fans.
Fans Are Now Able To Be Closer To Their Favorite Teams and Athletes
For sports fans around the world there’s nothing as important as the love they profess for their favorite teams and stars. You will never find a stronger relationship than the one a loyal sports fan has with his or her favorite team in whichever sport you ask. Given this, sports stars can easily be considered some of the most influential people in the world, with their actions always being closely followed by masses of fans all around. Thanks to technology, fans are now able to have a closer link and reach to those stars they so admire, especially since the invention of social media platforms. Thanks to these social interaction mediums, fans are now able to get a scoop into what everyday life is like for the athletes they admire.
These platforms have helped professional sporting organizations, leagues, teams and athletes all be able to breach the gap with their fanbases, making it easier for the fans to feel a more personal and involved role in the dealings of their teams. These apps have also helped athletes raise their voices and their opinions in regards to problems and situations regarding social injustice, sexism, racism, and other socially incorrect issues, allowing for these kinds of problems to be put on the spot and having them become a real topic of conversation to be had in order to find solutions that are fit for everyone involved.