A New View

Welcome to the world of tomorrow. According to a recent release from the Associated Press, the British network Sky Sports will broadcast the first live sporting event in 3-D when Arsenal and Manchester United collide on Sunday. It will be broadcast in nine pubs across Britain and Ireland. Maybe I will need to take a trip across the Atlantic this weekend...

I believe that this technology will revolutionize the way people watch sports simply because many people complain about the fact that TVs do not have the same depth as live sports. While nothing will be able to replace live sports in terms of fan interaction and experience, this technology will enable the fan to always feel, as EA Sports would say, "in the game." However, I wonder how this will appear when a player kicks the soccer ball directly at the camera. Will the ball appear to come flying out of the TV only to be intercepted by a player who comes into the picture that the viewer did not notice before? Or will the camera angle be zoomed out far enough that hidden players that I described before would not seem totally out of place when they appear? I don't know the answer, so I guess they'll have to wait until Sunday to find out. However, I think that this is only the first step to a television revolution. What I predict will happen is that once 3-D television is all but perfected, people will buy 3-D projectors. They will attach that projector to the roof so that it will project an image on the floor or some other flat surface. The entire court or field will be visible on the surface so that people will be able to see the entire game as it happens in small 3-D programs. I know this sounds like the tiny holograms that are used in Star Wars; however, once the 3-D television is mastered, I cannot imagine the 3-D projector being very far behind. I personally would love this as it would allow you to view the entire game from an angle that would allow you to see the plays developed and executed to perfection.

Maybe I'm dreaming, and this idea might not turn into the insanely popular idea I think it will be. However, as someone who loves to play with new technology, I am excited for the US media debut when ESPN broadcasts the World Cup in June. People say science fiction should stay as science fiction; in this case though, I think that we can make these dreams of George Lucas and other writers a reality.