Bringing Your Living Room to the Stadium

Have you ever ordered tickets for a sporting event, only to be shocked on game day by just how far away your seats are from the action, and how small the players appear? For many fans, it’s hard to justify the high cost of tickets, parking, and concessions, plus the hassle of traffic, lines, and iffy weather, when they can see every drop of sweat at home in high definition.

Diehards might tout the excitement of experiencing a live event, joining voices and rubbing shoulders with fellow sports nuts, and being part of a team’s "fan nation." But new media makes watching from the couch a communal event as well, with fans interacting and even contributing to online or television broadcasts via instant messaging, blogs, webcasts, and texting.

All of this technology, John Branch writes in The New York Times, "has forced sports officials to rethink the game experience and desperately attempt to bring the living room to the game, not the other way around." Jumbo screens flashing replays have long helped those in a stadium’s nosebleed section see what just happened. Now teams are adding such high tech comforts as wifi and "hand-held terminals" that allow fans to customize live broadcasts to enhance the game day experience.

Are you a tech savvy fan? Take time out from your Super Bowl Sunday merriment to tell us how you watch your favorite sport.

(Photo by Shawn McClung)