Sports – Trivial

The Burning RV – Tampa, Florida – 24 Nov 1991

In November 1991, the New York Giants returned to Tampa Stadium (the old “Big Sombrero”) for a regular season match up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Giants defeated the Buffalo Bills in that stadium in Super Bowl XXV earlier in the year. As a long-time Giants fan living in Florida, I was thrilled they were returning and scored two tickets for the game. I invited my work friend Jack Marshall to come to the game with me.

The game itself was pretty exciting. The Giants posted an early touchdown when return man Dave Megget ran a punt back 70 yards for the score. Jeff Hostetler started the game but was replaced late by Phil Simms due to a back injury.

The highlight of the game (or the low point, based on your perspective) occurred during the third quarter. Jack and I had end zone seats, a few rows from the top of the section. At one point, we notice a number of people standing along the wall behind the top row, drawn by something outside the stadium.

Fortunately, I had my camera with me and caught this photo of the distraction: a fan’s recreational vehicle somehow caught fire out in the parking lot. I witnessed flames rising from the RV by at least ten feet. As the image indicates, the thick black smoke from the fire could be seen from a good distance. We never did find out what the cause was, but my guess is some cooking device wasn’t properly secured before the owners headed to their seats in the stadium. I imagine they were pretty upset to find their ride hollowed out by flames when they returned to their spot.

By the way, the Giants won, 21-14.

Skycast Football

The ESPN-managed SEC Network broadcast the Kentucky-Georgia football game today (October 4) using the Skycast feature of ESPN’s Megacast technologies. I really believe this is a great way to watch any football game.

I recall watching it during last year’s college football playoffs. The experience is very different from a normal game presentation. No announcers blather along with play-by-play or inject excruciating analysis. The only chatter you hear is stadium announcements and the referee’s calls over the stadium PA systems.

The view is from over the field and the camera often lowers its view directly into or behind plays. This allows a totally different perspective as the game is played. In one play today, Georgia QB Gunner Stockton’s pass was picked off by a Kentucky defensive back so cleanly, it made you wonder why threw it at all, based on your view of the throw from behind.

Today’s game included commercials, as expected. But I recall that game last season actually didn’t go to commercials. Instead, the camera remained live and just panned around the field and the stadium during the breaks. The experience was more cinema veritè than Saturday afternoon college football.

I know this is a dream, but it sure would be an awesome thing if the NFL adopted something like this and actually made it available (for free, preferably) as an alternate feed that viewers could choose. Knowing the currency-printing machine that is the NFL, if they did offer this, it would be monetized and sold in some package. If they can make money off it, that’s what will happen. But I suppose I can continue to hope.

This is not good. I think.

Tom Brady is performing in advertisements for Hertz Car Rentals. They feature Brady in a “talk show” format, discussing all manner of car rental things with the “host” of the show, comedian Yvonne Orji (with whom I am not familiar at all, but whatever).

Does anyone remember the last world-famous athlete who hawked services for Hertz on a national scale?

Yep. O.J. Simpson.

And we all know how that worked out, don’t we?