NFL's Thursday Night Football looked like a video game. Plenty of fans didn't like it.

[yallerdawg]

I caught an ESPN college football game stream with no commentary as the overhead camera roamed around the field from one play to the next. I had never seen a football game from this perspective - and I thought it was revolutionary!


Source: WaPo by Travis M. Andrews

NFL fans and commentators were again divided on Thursday night, only this time it wasn’t about players kneeling during the national anthem. It was over a camera angle.

Thursday Night Football’s matchup between the Tennessee Titans and the Pittsburgh Steelers looked an awful lot like a video game. That’s because the broadcast’s primary angle was from SkyCam, a moving camera attached to wires that hangs about 15 feet over the field. The fact that it looked like a video game was part of the appeal for the NFL.

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True to form, NFL fans sounded off on Twitter. Reactions were mixed and, this being football, pretty fiery.

One fan called it “wonderful” and requested the NFL keep SkyCam “as the primary view for all broadcasts forever.” Another said the angle was “a nice touch to see how plays develop.” Another said: “I need skycam in all sports. This would be great for NBA games, too.”

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The fans who hated it, though, really hated it.

One said the SkyCam will “get me to stop watching football. Make camera angles great again!” Another tweeted to NBC, “enough with the overhead camera. We get it, you’re edgy. Go back to the camera that shows the whole field.” A third called it “beyond lame,” adding, “Please just stop. If I wanted views like this I’d play Madden 14.”

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Read it all at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/11/17/nfl-fans-are-arguing-again-its-not-about-kneeling-but-a-camera/

NFL proprietary youtube clip (Watch on YouTube link):

[Cattledog]

1. I liked it!

[Wounded Bear]

2. I hate it...

Sky Cam is fine when used as an occasional shot and for highlights, but not as the primary view.

Madden and Fantasy Football have already degraded the enjoyment of the game, this is just another nail in the coffin.

[asiliveandbreathe]

3. I loved it...I have been watching football for years, as many

here have, I'm sure...change is so hard for some - I loved it..count me in...

[yallerdawg]

4. I saw the end of a college game played in the rain.

It was so cool to be in the huddle, back out of huddle to be over the line viewing the defense just like the QB, watching the play unfold, following the pass or run to the whistle blow.

Then - the skycam followed the players, wandered over to the sideline above them, up into the crowd, back down to the huddle...so cool!

You could see the water droplets on their helmets, their wet uniforms, their bodies wet - you could really "feel" the game!

Count me in, too!

[asiliveandbreathe]

5. So eloquently written - your observations...I'm jealous...I really need to pay more attention

other than my pick winning...in my football pool...I know I saw all these things you describe...and here I was focused on the end game...especially your last paragraph...(btw, I'm a 70 year old woman....) fire away......

[LakeArenal]

6. Disliked....

[Paladin]

7. I got really tired of looking at the offensive line's asses.

Back to familiar camera angles, please.

[getting old in mke]

8. I love this view

It lets me see the whole play as it develops. Passing lanes show up, blocking schemes are no longer a muddle from the side. It certainly seems more informative and I feel more engaged.

I agree with those who have said they wished the angle started wider, so the outside receivers are visible before zooming in.

BUT it does take more attention to see things happen, since the camera angle isn't helping you out much. So for the sitting back and relaxing times, like with a game that's "just on" instead of one of interest to me (although, being a Bears fan, this is tough sometimes...), I'd probably prefer the sideline.

Since it seems, however, that practically every play these days gets an instant replay, at least when not in no-huddle mode, why not simply show both by default?