While I have been banging the drum to kill this satan’s child of technology that has been RUINING sports for all of us out here who watch these games for enjoyment only, and not some sense of perverse desire for perfection, this is the most well articulated argument I’ve read to date. Albert Burnenko writes that the delicious syrup of sporting excitement that we have lapped up for years, has been converted into bitter tasting and toxic motor oil. Even if every replay in every sport was rendered in 10 seconds or less (fantasy) and even if every single one of them was adjudicated perfectly and with no remaining dissent amongst those who saw it (impossible) replay would STILL be a terrible idea because of what Burnenko correctly identifies: the actual play isn’t worthing cheering for, save it for the appeal.
“So now the thing that happens is, a quarterback makes a daring pass, a receiver leaps high for a spectacular, heroic, superhuman catch in the end zone, and … everybody sits around bickering for five minutes while the referees determine whether what you just saw actually happened or not. The thing you root for is not for your team to do something amazing and good, but for the referees to grant that something amazing and good happened, and you cheer or groan when that happens. The actual sports feat, the football, no longer is allowed to be the substance of the football game.”
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4 Comments
Jason
That is so true. I remember at the end of Super Bowl XLIII, Big Ben throws a TD pass to Santonio Holmes…I’m a Steelers fan watching the game in the middle of a bunch of Packer fans and they get all excited and cheer for me…except I’m sitting there waiting for the replay and the referees to confirm the play. Not to mention the review of James Harrison’s 100-yard INT return in the same game to end the first half. The “moments” are being ruined.
Aaron B.
It hit me recently that replay probably appeals to the casual fan who is more interested in the drama than the nuts and bolts of the play on the field. Think about all those reality TV shows and competitions where it all comes down to judges huddling together and deciding the winner. People love that stuff, and now it’s in sports where it doesn’t belong.
Chris
Hmmmm. ESPN proclaims SC6’s format and hosts were the problem with the ratings? It took them a year to figure that out, eh? Absolutely amazing. If only they could have gotten feedback from their viewers when they first announced that format. Oh wait. Are we sure these guys are qualified to run a sports network?
Don’t answer that.
Incredible. But yeah, you just keep telling us that the costumer is wrong, we don’t know what we want, and WE’RE the ones who are out of touch.
Richard Glazewski
Czabe needs to stop bitching about replay. Not every down to the wire play is reviewed. His shitty Redskins are never good enough to be in a meaningful game where a last second play would matter. If his team got screwed on a last second play because of the lack of replay, he would bitch and moan on how they got screwed. I bet he wishes the Redskins could throw a red flag and review the decision to let Kirk Cousins walk. Have fun with “Captain Game Manager”, Alex Smith.