When it comes down to personal interests and hobbies, one of the most notable ones worldwide has got to be sports. Sports brings people from different cultures, races, and backgrounds all together. Most people around the world can name a favorite sport if asked and that just speaks to the impact that it has had on the human race since the beginning of time. Technology is making its way through sports in more ways than one and fans everywhere are either loving it or hating it.
Whether you like soccer, basketball, or even football most, there is a level of replay review that takes place to ensure that the correct calls were made and nothing was missed. For example, if a player fouls another player in basketball really hard, the referees will take a second to go back and look at the video. While looking at the video, they will then review it to see if there was any malicious intent or vicious act that was missed before.
While the example that I used before seems like there could be nothing wrong with replay review, its major criticisms come from when it’s used in a situation where they finally see something that could never have been seen live. The best way I can describe this in an example away from sports is like a student getting an F for plagiarism for an essay they wrote in the 6th grade but the student is getting penalized while he’s in the 10th grade. The time has already passed for them to get in trouble so how can they even discipline the student when that time has passed?
In soccer, the replay review has a specific name in VAR. VAR stands for video assistant referee. Once the VAR communicates to the on field referee that the previous play is under review, all play is stopped and the review takes place. In an offside check, the referee team uses an insane technology that shows the body parts of each player during the game to see whether the player was onside or offside. This is one of the most hated uses of the VAR as there is a linesman referee who should be able to see whether a player is offside or onside. However, VAR gets the call right 100% of the time using an advanced technology that would answer just that question. This leads to which side you’re really on. Should most calls be used by the naked eye? Should these advanced technologies be used to make calls?
One of the growing issues in the MLB is the introduction of robot umpires. Since the creation of the sport we know as baseball, there has always been a human umpire behind the batter who calls the pitches from the pitcher. They’re either known as balls or strikes out of their hand. There are so many criticisms that come with these human umpires as they often miss calls and eject the managers of teams at times. Therefore, the easy fix would just be to implement these robot umpires so everything can be good, right? No, wrong! The rebuttal from the fans of the MLB across the world is that human error is supposed to be a part of baseball. They believe that the close calls should be at the discretion of the human umpire and not 100% right. Whether you want everything to be perfect or discretion based is up to each individual. To test how impactful these robot umpires will be, the minor leagues will test them in their games this upcoming season. If it proves to be beneficial and not ruin the game, I’m sure that it will make its way up to the big leagues and MLB sooner rather than later.
When it comes down to sports, it’s almost like politics in a way that you won’t agree with everything but you can take bits from each stance and create your own ideologies, especially when it comes with the implementation of technology in it. Hopefully in the future, we’ll be able to really see what’s good and what’s bad for sports as we are just in our initial stages of advanced technology in it.
This is definitely a controversial area. I’m of the opinion that the correct call is more important than having the humans do it. As sensors, cameras, and AI get cheaper, it will be possible to have AI umpires at multiple levels. The focus should be on the athletes, not on those managing the game.
Hi Val, this is a compelling topic right now. The use of enhanced technology would have a different look in each sport, but the premise remains the same. Is human error supposed to be a part of these highly competitive games when it does not have to be? We will certainly be able to tell in the future what is good and bad with technology in sports, and trial and error are essential. If umpire/referee error can be eliminated, why not create the fairest situation for the athletes? We have all seen some absurd calls made (or not made) by officials, and I would not be opposed to cutting out this aspect of human error from sports.
This is a super interesting topic especially with the new implementation of such technologies. While I appreciate accuracy of calls, I do recognize the human element in sports. I believe sports should be a way of connecting and sharing. I fear that with increased technology use when judging rules and calls, sports could become more robotic than human. My ideal situation would sit somewhere in the middle, where technology can be used but should never be relyed upon solely. For example when VAR shows the image of offside and it is barely offsides by like an inch or one body part, it seems very ticky tacky and not in the true spirit of the game. Specifically soccer which is supposed to be such an accesible sport, it could potentially be alienating for some viewers.
Hi Val, this is a great topic. The use of technology to enhance reffing will definitely provide benefit to the sport in the avenue of ensuring that players do not break the fundamental rules of the sport. (i.e Out of bounds, Offsides, Strikes/Balls). From a player and referee standpoint, making these calls is a tremendous part of keeping the game fair but sports are not always that black and white. Some would argue that a big part of sports is assessing the other team’s weaknesses and exploiting the pain points of the team to gain an advantage while staying within the rules of the game. In basketball, like all sports, the rules dictate the player’s positioning to be considered in a “legal guarding position”. The rules also dictate ‘compensation’ of some type when a player fails to be in that position, usually in the form of a penalty towards the inciting player. This is one of the many things that players consider when playing their sport. Basketball players that realize that they are faster than their opponents tend to use their speed to draw fouls that favor their team. Similarly, in soccer, player collisions are inevitable and players would oftentimes “sell” the foul call in order to be awarded a free kick.
Now, consider a court with all automated referees. Unless the technology is smart enough to understand player intentions or know how much force is required upon impact to draw a significant disadvantage, these types of fouls are harder to assess. The application of technology in sports for technical, ‘by-the-book’ rules are significant and have improved game officiating. I think that competent officials combined with the use of technology will still provide better officiating.
This is a very interesting topic to discuss, and I appreciate you choosing something that sparks conversation. Personally, I like the use of technology to make the right call in sports. Refs are there to do their best, but when it comes down to game-winning decisions that are extremely close, I believe it makes sense to bring in technology to get it right. Even if there is barely a sway in which way the vote should go, I believe it makes the game fairer for everyone.
I like the examples you used, especially the baseball scenario. As someone who played baseball most of my life, I always found it so frustrating if the ref made a bad call against me that I knew was wrong. For example, if I was running to first base and heard the ball hit the first baseman’s glove AFTER I felt my foot touch the bag, it was extremely frustrating getting called out after I knew I was safe. However, this might be an issue that should be voted on amongst the fans.
Hi Val, this is a very intriguing topic! I think it is crucial that the correct call is made in sports. Therefore, I think having advanced technology making the calls in games instead of refs is a great idea as it would eliminate human error. It will definitely be interesting to see if this becomes a part of sports in the future!
Hi Val, I love the idea of robot umpires! I’ve actually thought about them in the past because of the huge impact that they would bring to baseball and it now seems that people are taking it seriously. I wonder what the cost to create the umpires looks like? It’s important to make sure that these robots have at least an 80% chance of success before placing them onto the live field, I think that the audience will bash the automated device because it takes away from the liveliness of the sport. Rules in sports have been controlled by human discretion for too long, this is our future! Thanks for a great post, Val.
Hey Val, as a huge fan of soccer, football, and baseball I can’t tell whether or not I truly love or hate the idea of the technology of sports. I usually hate it when something goes wrong for my team, but on the other hand, I cheer what a great idea it is when it benefits me. I think it makes the most sense for it to be implemented in baseball as it’s almost not fair when the umpire calls something blatantly obvious a ball when it’s a strike.
Now for football, I think the system is extremely outdated, and using an older gentleman to decide on whether or not the ball got to the first down line is one that is weird because it just uses the eye test. This part of the game needs to be implemented with AI as this is something that wouldn’t be disputed with fans of football.
Great post!
Hello Val, being a fan of basketball and football makes me wonder how much technology is helping out the game or hurting it. For basketball, instant replay is useful to get a call right but during the flow of the game some calls end up getting missed so technology could definitely help the game. I am all for technology improving sports and can’t wait to see how it impacts all sports that we love.
Hi Val! VAR is super controversial in the soccer world, as many people think it helps, while others think it hurts. I personally think it takes away from the raw and true nature of the game, but it does provide the most precise decision and removes human error. I am really curious to see how the minor league systems will react to the robot umpires, in order for us to see its actual use case in the major leagues.
Hey Val! This blog post is so interesting! I strongly believe that technology is so important in sports, although there are both sides to it (pros and cons). Having technology make the right calls vs humans make the calls is crucial in sports; I say this because humans don’t always see the mistakes that happen in a game. Therefore, having technology there as a “back up” to make the correct call for a sport is crucial.
Hey Val! This was a great topic to read! I am very interested in it because I play soccer and have been questioning many of the same things that you brought up in this article. It really is something that will be very important to the future of the sport. The biggest thing here is figuring out what really matters. Are we more focused on getting the call exactly right every single time, or missing a couple slight calls so that the flow and rhythm of the game doesn’t get affected.