I’m sure you are just as tired as I am of all of the questionable calls in NFL games lately. It seems to be every game where we’re stuck screaming at our televisions over a botched call by the NFL referees. Most recently, Dez Bryant in the playoffs. But questionable calls in NFL games stem from much more than that call in the Cowboys-Packers playoff game from January. Every scoring play is reviewable. No one has an issue about that. But, what about the plays leading up to the goal line--the plays that carry so much weight when it comes to the outcome of the game. How do we make sure those calls are 100% accurate? We can go to the booth until we’re blue in the face; these calls are still getting messed up. Apparently, the NFL isn’t about to invest in sideline cameras. Roger Goodell and the NFL, at the annual NFL Owners Meeting in Arizona a couple weeks ago, said the league could not afford to add anymore cameras to the field. Can’t afford it?! The league that is estimated to be worth roughly $12 billion in 2015 can’t afford to add a couple camera to ensure the calls on the field are being called correctly. Wow. “It’s disappointing every year we can’t afford that, as a league,” New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick told reporters at the meeting. “They brought that up as a concern. It was kind of surprising to hear that.” It’s so hard to fathom that the league can’t allocate the money to add a few cameras so the outcomes of games are never in question. You have thousands of cameras in every stadium; you spill your beer in the stands and the league knows it. You have those zip line cameras ready to zoom in on the huddle so we can see the color of the quarterback’s eyes. But you can’t afford cameras that will help get the calls on the field right? Since Belichick’s comments, the NFL has said they will look into potential remedies for additional cameras, but who knows the timeframe on that. No one is in any position to tell anyone how to spend their money—especially the NFL’s money. But here is a potential, cheaper fix to improving calls on the field. How about the GoPro? That’s right, those tiny, hand-held cameras. Let’s stick a couple of those on the pylons in the end zones. Boom, no more questions about if the ball broke the plane. The NFL has already toyed with them, sticking the cameras on helmets during team practices for entertainment purposes. The best part—GoPros are going for roughly $199.99 online. Maybe the NFL would be willing to pony up the money for a couple of those in each stadium. Maybe not. The NFL doesn’t need to do anything. They’ll probably enter the 2015 season using the same method for reviewing plays that they have used since the current replay system arrived back in 1999. It is just funny to hear some people’s excuses. A $12 billion company not being able to afford a couple cameras for their own greater good might top the list. David Heim is a junior journalism student from Roselle Park, N.J. He can be reached at david.heim@student.shu.edu or on Twitter @davidheim12.
Comments
