Make Sports Better: Part III

By JoshPetersel in Josh plays Sports, Make Sports Better 0 Comment
Author: Zach
Bio: A Very Brother of Josh. Really into masochism rooting for the Mets and Islanders. Keeps his own Mets blog on the internet somewhere.
  1. More in-game player cameras. How much closer to the game can you get? Why not give fans greater access to what the players experience during the game?
  2. More pre-game player access. I know they are professionals and are about to play a game, but at least in hockey and baseball there is some down time before the game starts. How about more autograph sessions, or something? Players should be doing that anyway.
  3. Continue to bring in big-name soccer players. Thierry Henry and David Beckham should just be the beginning. Soccer is a great game; there is a reason it’s the most popular sport in the world. If the US could somehow get more high-profile players, the sports fans of the US might really enjoy this game.
  4. Less advertising, please. Everything is sponsored—even replays. Let’s take it easy and let the sponsoring stop with commercials and stadium signage. Less is more.
  5. At the end of games, let people move down to new seats. I am not sure about this one, as this may annoy people who paid for the expensive seats. However, this could provide more incentive for new people to buy those tickets after they see the better view. This would only be allowed for last three innings, or the last period, or the fourth quarter, or whatever.
  6. Bring back the glowing puck. People watching hockey say they have trouble following the puck; let’s help them.
  7. Make college basketball players stay longer. The one year requirement was nice, but if football players have to stay for three years, then why not basketball players? This puts more focus on education.
  8. Lower prices of ballpark food and drink. How people charge $6 for a soda is outrageous. Families should be able to budget for day-trip, not a week-long vacation.
  9. Stop with extravagant food. There is no reason the Mets should be selling lobster and shrimp at baseball games, especially for double-digit prices. Stick to whatever they say in “Take me out to the Ball Game.” They did it right.
  10. Fantasy sports writers should have some credibility and accountability. Some articles (Yahoo!’s “Flames and Lames” comes to mind) are usually half right—they could be guessing, but probably getting paid to do it. How about getting it correct 70% of the time? Can an icon next to the author’s name keep track of this?
  11. Bring fantasy sports to sporting events. Put booths at baseball/football games where you could check your lineup between innings. Somehow owners would charge for this, but I think it could work.
  12. Bring fantasy sports to sporting events #2. How about putting relevant fantasy stats up on the Jumbo-tron—even if it’s just his Yahoo!/ESPN Player Rank? This could be a partial sponsor to generate more revenue for team too. Let the fans see how their players are doing in fantasy.
  13. Eliminate the Pro Bowl. Especially since it’s after the Super Bowl. I don’t know who watches this.
  14. After each game, why not let people run the bases, or kick a field goal, or take a shot in basketball? Simple things that may make stadium staff work an extra 20 mins would be a huge win for the fans.
  15. How about some new camera angles? Every so often, it would be awesome to see a hockey game from Alex Ovechkin’s visor. Put a camera there (with insurance because he hits) and after he makes an amazing move, let’s see how he did it.
  16. Remember the rally monkey? The Angels had a huge home field adv with the blow up balloons. Why don’t more teams do this? They are not as bad as the World Cup vuvuzelas, but were great to watch on TV.
  17. Hire nicer people instead of these asshole security guys, who yell at kids and families because the power has gone to their heads. [Editor’s Note: This may be a New York thing.]
  18. Raise the rims in basketball. Just because people are 7 feet doesn’t mean they should make millions of dollars playing basketball. Some big men aren’t good athletes but are on the floor, especially in college because of their height. A higher rim changes that.
  19. Expand Instant Replay in baseball…a little. Football has it correct. Give each manager two challenges a game. The technology exists; why not use it? Either that, or have a 5th umpire somewhere inside the stadium who can buzz the crew chief if he got a call wrong. Wouldn’t slow the game down that much, but would make sure the correct call is made.
  20. No college football playoffs. The BCS may not be the best method, but with every system there are flaws. Even with a playoff like the NCAA tournament the best team does not win (Butler and VCU would not have been the best teams in the country). The bowl system is fine the way it is.