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Ten years ago, if anyone had said that the viewing of the game of American football would have
been significantly enhanced if a yellow line appeared on the TV at the "1st and 10 Line", insane
laughter would have been the likely feedback returned.
But today, the "1st and 10 Line" by Sportvision has so improved the viewing of the game of
football that it has won two of television's Emmy awards. More importantly, it has resisted
an attempt by the networks to remove it (on budget grounds) from NFL broadcasts because
the uproar was so great that the yellow line had to be reinstated...for the good of the game.
So how is this technology going to effect soccer? The future of soccer broadcasting will no
doubt include a yellow line representing the off sides line. That's obvious. So long as soccer
remains a game decided by the first goal scored in the majority of the games...the "off sides line"
will indeed be warranted.
With the same technology being used in baseball broadcasts to help determine if the pitch is in
the strike zone (the K zone, another Emmy Award winning innovation from Sportvision), I'd
like to see if this technology can be used in soccer telecasts to help determine the angle of attack
of a defensive player at the point of physical contact. Maybe an icon on the TV screen which
changed colors if the attack angle (the A angle?) were such that it could be determined to be
tackling from behind.
Photo Credit: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, January 4, 2003, page 12D, Photographer: Rick Moon
Now the ultimate in soccer viewing pleasure would be achieved if "the A angle" identified a
tackle from behind (and possession changed hands and the ref's whistle wasn't blown) which
then initiated the display of a window which featured a replay of the tackle. Now that would
be sweet, and much more useful during the 90% of the game when off sides is not an issue.
Please understand that this desire is based on my appreciation of what I consider to be the most
underrated skill in soccer:
The ability of a player to change gears while running with the ball under his or her feet.
In any sport, this ability to accelerate further and to continue to keep the ball relatively close to
the body at a time when it appears that the player is already at top speed is one of the prime
talents a player can possess.
When a defender is approaching the player controlling the ball from the side, which is generally
the case, he choses a pace appropriate to allow interception at or before perpendicular to the
path of the offensive player. The player controlling the ball can avoid the defender many different
ways, but my personal favorite is when they increase their speed as the defender is closing in on
them. This changes the angle of attack of the defender to the point of coming in from behind,
which will usually limit the options available to the defender. If he chooses to slide tackle from
slightly behind the player, his chance of success is improved simply because he is no longer in
the field of vision of the player controling the ball. But he also risks a yellow or red card.
Photo Credit: England's FourFourTwo Magazine, August 2002, page 112
Once he realizes that he has been burned, the usual choice is to stay upright and casually
reach out and grab an arm or shoulder just to throw off the timing and concentration
of the player controlling the ball. This is seldom called by the referee since it is not enough
to actually change possession.
If the angle of attack were measured with each encounter, the announcers would give more
thought to this aspect of the game, so the referees would be forced to give more attention to
the angle of attack of the defenders. This increased focus would force the defenders to think more
about whether each slide tackle is truly coming in from behind. More thought creates hesitation,
and defensive hesitation creates goals.
Moving on, once these enhancements are in place, look for the NFL's controversial play review
by the officials to be the natural evolution to the televised game of soccer. Again, so long as it
remains a single goal game.
Finally, let me take this excellent opportunity to use the "1st and 10 Line" to highlight the
difference between sports which cater to purists and sports which cater to the much bigger
audience of the casual sports fan.
The technology behind the yellow line originated in pro hockey in the early '90's. It took the form
of a computer generated glowing puck which offered the benefit of being easier to follow by the
slower witted casual sports fan. Hockey's purists vehemently panned the glowing puck, so it was
removed from the telecasts.
Fortunately, today's American football shamelessly caters to the casual sports fan. The yellow
"1st and 10 Line" makes the game so much more enjoyable for the casual sports fan (like yours
truly) that "belly aching" by the game's highly principled purists would receive the requisite polite
response, but not much more.
As it should be...here on Planet Kimbro.
Mike "The Un-Purist" Kimbro
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