The Sports Footage You Won't See Today On TV

Hugh Pickens writes "As sports nerds settle in today after Thanksgiving dinner for NFL and college football Reed Albergotti writes that there is some footage you will never see as he argues that the most-watched game in the US is probably the least understood. During every NFL game there are cameras hovering over the field, lashed to the goalposts and pointed at the coaches, but you will never see a shot of the entire field and what all 22 players do on every play which is considered proprietary information available only to teams and coaches. For decades, NFL TV broadcasts have relied most heavily on one view: the shot from a sideline camera that follows the progress of the ball. Anyone who wants to analyze the game, however, prefers to see the pulled-back camera angle known as the "All 22." While this shot makes the players look like stick figures, it allows students of the game to see things that are invisible to TV watchers: like what routes the receivers ran, how the defense aligned itself and who made blocks past the line of scrimmage and gives fans a 'bird's eye view' of the game to dissect team strategies, performances, and keys to success. Without the expanded frame, fans often have no idea why many plays turn out the way they do, or if the TV analysts are giving them correct information."

Do this in Chess...

[bhagwad]

When broadcasting a chess match, the camera should only zoom in on the piece the player is actually touching at the moment. Allowing a bird's eye view of the board will expose the various strategies the player uses and is considered proprietary information by the player and his or her team.

Re:This is /.

[SomePgmr]

Well, it is Thanksgiving, so I guess it's forgivable. And I heard the Packers scored lots of home runs today.

Re:So what?

[maxwell demon]

I can say, with no reservation whatsoever, that I don't care about this article in any way, shape or form.

You at least cared enough to post this.

You insensitive clod!

[KazW]

I'm Canadian, Thanksgiving was last month!

Re:This is /.

[AK Marc]

Don't leave us in suspense, any grand slams?

Re:why is it football, again?

[heinousjay]

Just to piss you off.

You know what you should do? You should give it a clever name like "handegg" and then pat yourself on the back for being so amazingly observant.

Re:This is /.

[Anonymous Coward]

They lost them in the wickets during a power-play caused by a penalty kick, if only they had done a better job protecting the blern.

Re:Wow

[Anonymous Coward]

Do you hear that? That's the sound of me not giving a fuck.

Re:why is it football, again?

[Waffle Iron]

don't they use hands to carry whatever that thing they call 'ball' around? Why is it called 'football'?

Because it's the only major professional sport in the USA where the ball is *ever* allowed to touch the foot. That's how American sports are named: they go with what unique thing the ball does only a tiny fraction of the time.

Basketball gets its name because it is the only sport where the ball sometimes goes in a basket, even though 99.9% of the time it's being bounced around the court with the hands. Likewise, baseball is named after the bases, even though the ball is only very rarely actually on a base.

Re:proprietary?

[st0nes]

Most of the footage we see follows the ball. But every so often, when there's a break in play, the camera zooms in on chicks in the crowd with great hooters, or players picking their noses, spitting or scratching their crotches. Could these folk not get something for their extra performances?