The first down in football was not the first iteration of telemetry in the United States, many other technological advances helped increase the enjoyment of in-home entertainment over the past couple of decades. However, to properly appreciate the impact technologies such as the yellow line have made in recent years, we must examine the past.
Sports broadcasting has expanded a long way over the past century. In 1911, the first mechanical reproduction of a sports game occurred where telegraphs would be sent from Missouri, the location of the game, to Kansas and the result of the play would be announced while a large football model would display the action a few seconds afterward.
Next, radio broadcasting made its debut in 1921 calling a boxing match between Johnny Dundee and Jonny Ray in Pittsburgh. Its football debut came only a couple of months later in college football.
Finally, the televised debut of sports broadcasting occurred in 1939 when Fordham and Waynesburg College. The first national game was in the same year where Duke played University of Pittsburgh. The national exposure to the sport would prove invaluable to the success and popularity of football today. However, this popularity would take many years to manifest itself as technology caught up to the game to make it simple and relatable to the viewer.
The NFL football games were confusing to watch and learn in its early forms. The complex rules of the game, poor picture quality and lack of on-screen information made it hard to follow with so many moving parts on each play. In many other commonly televised sports, there is often an easily identified goal for either team and most of the necessary information is already physically on the field. For instance, soccer has two goals and permanent boxes surrounding the goals can easily be explained and never change from game to game. Basketball is similar where there are two baskets on each end and the lines can be defined in a couple of seconds as the “3-point” line and the “free throw” line. Even in Rugby, there are minimal lines and only the end goal lines are critical to understanding the scoring of the game. However, football is a start and stop sport where almost every play may have different criteria required by the offense to determine success or failure. For a new viewer, these sorts of complications can be a barrier for watching at home. Why is everyone cheering for a one yard run? Why are we sad that a long 18 yard pass was not good enough? It can be confusing why one play for 5 yards may result in a first down but another may not. Now, the first down technology has helped eliminate this confusion by providing a tangible goal to root for on any given play.
Over the past decade or so, the at-home viewing experience has seemingly surpassed the live experience. The first down line is one of the major advancements that played a part in this transformation. According to the Harris Poll, professional football has become America’s favorite sport in a landslide. Today, 35% of Americans would choose football as their favorite sport compared to 14% for Major League Baseball in second. The most recent Super Bowl recorded high viewership at over 111 million viewers.
Sports broadcasting has expanded a long way over the past century. In 1911, the first mechanical reproduction of a sports game occurred where telegraphs would be sent from Missouri, the location of the game, to Kansas and the result of the play would be announced while a large football model would display the action a few seconds afterward.
Next, radio broadcasting made its debut in 1921 calling a boxing match between Johnny Dundee and Jonny Ray in Pittsburgh. Its football debut came only a couple of months later in college football.
Finally, the televised debut of sports broadcasting occurred in 1939 when Fordham and Waynesburg College. The first national game was in the same year where Duke played University of Pittsburgh. The national exposure to the sport would prove invaluable to the success and popularity of football today. However, this popularity would take many years to manifest itself as technology caught up to the game to make it simple and relatable to the viewer.
The NFL football games were confusing to watch and learn in its early forms. The complex rules of the game, poor picture quality and lack of on-screen information made it hard to follow with so many moving parts on each play. In many other commonly televised sports, there is often an easily identified goal for either team and most of the necessary information is already physically on the field. For instance, soccer has two goals and permanent boxes surrounding the goals can easily be explained and never change from game to game. Basketball is similar where there are two baskets on each end and the lines can be defined in a couple of seconds as the “3-point” line and the “free throw” line. Even in Rugby, there are minimal lines and only the end goal lines are critical to understanding the scoring of the game. However, football is a start and stop sport where almost every play may have different criteria required by the offense to determine success or failure. For a new viewer, these sorts of complications can be a barrier for watching at home. Why is everyone cheering for a one yard run? Why are we sad that a long 18 yard pass was not good enough? It can be confusing why one play for 5 yards may result in a first down but another may not. Now, the first down technology has helped eliminate this confusion by providing a tangible goal to root for on any given play.
Over the past decade or so, the at-home viewing experience has seemingly surpassed the live experience. The first down line is one of the major advancements that played a part in this transformation. According to the Harris Poll, professional football has become America’s favorite sport in a landslide. Today, 35% of Americans would choose football as their favorite sport compared to 14% for Major League Baseball in second. The most recent Super Bowl recorded high viewership at over 111 million viewers.