01-14-2016, 10:31 AM
(01-14-2016, 10:24 AM)JS-Steelerfan Wrote: Sometimes I wonder if this atmosphere isn't somehow related to the efforts to make the game safer. By making certain plays illegal, a resentment against them is now there that didn't exist before. And it is magnified when borderline calls are not made. All of this negative energy is now created by plays that used to be viewed as just part of the game. Don't get me wrong - I still think that they should try to protect the players, but this seems to be an unfortunate side effect.
I tend to agree with you. I also think the ability to go back and watch it over and over, from different angles, in slow motion, helps foster this atmosphere as well. I saw some brutal hits playing ball in high school, but it was quick, it was over, and we went on with the game. Now after a hit like that in the NFL, while the player is getting helped off the field you are seeing it a dozen more times on the big screen. Not just the fans, but the players as well.
Seeing it over and over like that, especially when they slow it down and from all those different angles, leads you to think you know what the player that made the hit saw and was thinking better than that player. The truth is the action of the game, the 17 minutes worth out of the 3 hours you watch, is very fast paced and oftentimes a player lines up for a hit and is unable to make an adjustment to correct. But because we see it in slow motion from angles the player can't see, people tend to think that he lined up that way on purpose.
I'm for increased player safety than what we had in the game 30, 20, even 10 years ago. But there is something to be said for not having those replays all over the place to give fans, staff, and players something to dwell on.
