What was golf like before tech?
I am a huge fan of golf, and each time I watch players walk to the course with their electric golf trolleys, I can’t help but wonder how the previous generation SURVIVED without this little robot.
Nowadays, golf players can easily glide around the course with their trolleys. Golfers back then didn’t have this luxury. They had to carry heavy loads of golf bag around acres of land.
What a chore it must have been for them.
What was cricket like before tech?
Strangely, my friend, who’s a cricket lover, gave me an even more shocking revelation.
He said in cricket, back then, the playing grounds (fields) were so bad, players would hurt themselves simply by running on them.
What was football (soccer) like before tech?
Another friend who liked soccer talked about how rain used to cause soccer games to end. He said the fields used to be so bad with bad water retention, making it so hard for players to move, let alone move the ball.
All these revelations made me realize just how lucky we’re to be experiencing sports in our generation. And that’s thanks in no small parts to technology.
So, to what extent has tech helped sports exactly? Let’s find out.
1. It is now possible to control the weather
If you can control the weather, then there’s no need to worry about how it’s going to affect your sports, right?
Well, that’s exactly what China tried to do in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics. With the aid of climate technology, they were able to break the clouds and stopped the rain from falling.
2. Cheating is next to impossible
From the “Hand of God” saga of Maradona in 1986 to the drug scandal of Ben Johnson in 1988, almost every sport had an event of cheating at one point in time or the other.
Luckily, tech is eradicating almost every possibility of cheating in sports.
In football (soccer), we have the nearly infallible Video Assistant Referee (VAR). In Boxing, anti-doping tests have gone a notch, and that’s thanks in no small parts to tech.
Finally, almost every sport now adopts the use of Hawk-eye 3600 cameras and VR experiences – cameras that are capable of spotting even the slightest of actions.
3. Improved sporting conditions
One of the highlights of the introductory part of this post is the talk about how the playing fields and conditions sucked back then.
Thanks to tech, that’s no longer the case.
Nowadays, we now have covered stadiums and playing grounds (e.g., the AT&T Stadium, the Principality Stadium, and the Mercedes-Benz Stadium), conditioned turfs with excellent water-holding capacity, dressed surfaces, and synthetic grasses.
Even the sporting balls are better. From football to basketball, volleyball to golf, and every sport you can think of, the balls are made with better wind-factor factored in.
Today, you don’t see a soccer player kicking a ball towards the north, and the ball swerves all by itself to the east.
4. Ease of doing business
Once upon a time, sports were all about fun and entertainment. But not anymore. Now, it’s as much about entertainment as it is money-making.
Luckily for everyone involved in it, technology has made it easier to make money from sports.
Systems like internet tech, digital tech, and information tech now allow sporting stakeholders (teams, clubs, organizations, etc.) to sell items (tickets, jerseys, invites, etc.), strike deals (sponsorships, endorsements, etc.), and do business across all levels. If you need assistance with your technology, BCA IT in Miami is a managed IT support company that can help you.
5. Easier to connect with sports
Technology has made it easier for any to connect with sports. If you’re a fan, technology allows you to stream your favorite sport/team live at any given time. If you’re a coach, technology makes scouting, recruitment, and coaching even easier. If you’re a player, you have lots of tech to improve your skills and get better at what you do. Talk about gym equipment, online tips and materials, training resources, and stuff like that.
6. Helps with keeping athletes fit
Gone are those days when athletes relied on weight-lifting and track and field running as the best way to keep fit.
Nowadays, there are so many workout procedures and equipment available.
And if you’re ever in a position where you can’t afford them, training facilities are there for you. Many of them offer cutting edge technology in maximizing your talents through hard work and unique training methods.
