I love football, but I think broadcasts could be improved on various fronts.
First, I realize those in charge are in a collective tizzy to shorten games. It seems younger folks don’t have the attention spans needed to stick around for anything longer than the average Instagram reel, so keeping them engaged is a monumental issue. In case you’re wondering, studies show that Gen Zers and Millennials can stay focused eight and 12 seconds respectively, while Baby Boomers can pay attention for between 25 and 30 minutes. (Talk among yourselves.)
Since we older folks are dying off, the NFL has been scrambling to make rule changes regarding timing and game pace, all to keep broadcasts under the golden three-hour mark. (Not sure why that’s the sweet spot, but there you have it.) Clearly, dumping some of the commercials might help, but I’m guessing that’s the last thing the league wants to do.
With all this in mind, the NFL decided that those pesky officials were not capable of speedily determining whether the ball had reached the line to gain. So, the guys on the sidelines holding the chains were told, “No more!” I know what you’re thinking. “But, Anne, AI is so much more accurate in regard to measurements.”
As a former amateur football referee, I’ve stared at the space between the ball and stick on myriad occasions. Note here: Not rocket science. It’s simply that the machine does it more quickly. So now those sweet moments of anticipation preceding the ref’s announcement are gone, a bit of football pageantry eliminated. All in the interest of shaving a little time off the clock.
A better option is eliminating the two-minute warning, a rule that is archaic and completely unnecessary with all those clocks pasted onto our stadiums and screens. I’ll let my AI friend handle it here: “The two-minute warning is a legacy rule that remains because it provides a scheduled commercial break…” There is also something about it building game-end drama and a shift to endgame rules, none of which I’m buying. So, if only advertisers would miss it, why not dump the two-minute warning and save some time?
Another change I’d like to see involves reporters on the sidelines, which of course is the most useless “sportscasting” job there is. The only reason the position exists is so the networks can point and say, “Look how diverse our crew is!” That’s because it’s mostly women manning those mics. I say give those girls a shot in the booth or as commentators on those pre-halftime-and-post-game shows. Here’s where you’ll remind me that there are women on those programs and you’d be right. But why are they generally the ones asking the questions and not those giving the answers? Do the networks doubt women can provide pithy, clever comments about football? And don’t say it’s because they never played football. There are plenty of male sports reporters who never played either. That said, the only real reason to have announcers on the sidelines involves player injuries. So I say scrap the reporters, grab a few nurses, mic them up, and let medical professionals do the updates.
Don’t get me wrong. I love watching football, but the broadcasts can be better. Here’s hoping someone is listening. I’ll let you know whan I have some more good ideas.
Wolf Catcher
Anne Montgomery
Historical Fiction
In 1939, archeologists uncovered a tomb at the Northern Arizona site called Ridge Ruin. The man, bedecked in fine turquoise jewelry and intricate bead work, was surrounded by wooden swords with handles carved into animal hooves and human hands. The Hopi workers stepped back from the grave, knowing what the Moochiwimi sticks meant. This man, buried nine hundred years earlier, was a magician.
Former television journalist Kate Butler hangs on to her investigative reporting career by writing freelance magazine articles. Her research on The Magician shows he bore some European facial characteristics and physical qualities that made him different from the people who buried him. Her quest to discover The Magician’s origin carries her back to a time when the high desert world was shattered by the birth of a volcano and into the present-day dangers of archeological looting where black market sales of antiquities can lead to murder.
Bookstores, libraries, and other booksellers can order copies directly from the Ingram Catalog.
Anne Montgomery’s novels can be found wherever books are sold.
Author Anne Montgomery 