Let’s talk the best Christmas sports lists.
It’s Christmas and Hanukkah time and we all have our wish lists. Sports fans generally have sports-specific items on their wish lists. Of course, at the top of most lists is something over which we have no control – championships. In baseball, teams are signing and trading for players to help make your (and their) dreams come true. In football, basketball and hockey, teams are marching toward the playoffs and a few wins could mean rings for them and immense pride and bragging rights for their fans.
Some fans have waited years to watch their team hoist the big trophies. Cleveland Indians/Guardians fans last celebrated in 1948. The Mariners, Rangers, Padres, Rockies, Brewers and Rays have never hoisted the MLB Commissioner’s Trophy. The Mariners have never made it to the World Series, but even the most-decorated team, the Yankees – with 27 championships – haven’t won one since 2009. For NFL fans, the Browns, Lions, Jaguars and Texans have never won a Super Bowl and the Arizona Cardinals franchise last won an NFL title in 1948. The NBA Clippers have never won it all and it has been 71 years for the Sacramento Kings franchise. In the NHL, a dozen teams have never skated around the rink holding the Stanley Cup and the Toronto Maple Leafs have gone 55 years without winning the Cup. Is having your team win the championship enough for you, or do you want other things?
Many fans want toys, the latest electronic games, special collector cards or personal items, jerseys and signed memorabilia. Others would rather be there IN the action or AT the action. As long as we are wishing …
OK, most of us want to suit up and actually play for our teams. Well, that isn’t going to happen, so next best thing … be in the dugout? On the bench? On the sidelines? In the owner’s box?
Do you just want front-row seats or season boxes? Is watching at those great venues enough … or would you rather throw out the first pitch, drop the ceremonial puck, toss the coin or flip the jump ball at the big game?
Do you want to be the person who says, “Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines,” at the Indy 500? Or would you rather be there in the pits with your favorite Indy or NASCAR driver? How about caddying for your fave golfer at The Masters? Toss the tennis balls back to your tennis star at Wimbledon? Walk your thoroughbred bet into the paddock at the Kentucky Derby? How about making the March Madness selections on Brackets Day?
Shelly Palmer, the professor of advanced media in residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a Web3 strategy and solutions firm, asks: If there were no technological or financial restrictions, how would fans want to attend a sporting event or a concert? What will “attending” evolve to mean? Would fans want to point to a player on the field and see or hear their latest stats? Would they want their seat in the stadium to recognize them and understand their VIP status?
Palmer asks, “What about you? Would you want access to the data the various coaches were using during the game? How about the ability to play more realistic fantasy sports or have a digital twin of your game-worn collectible merchandise in a virtual world? Would the main attraction(s) appear to you as a full-motion hologram? An avatar? A synthetic human?”
To accomplish this, Palmer said, fans need to be technologically empowered to participate in the experience. This may mean having a smartphone, or possibly eyewear that will enable augmented reality projections. It may also include audio (headphones, earbuds or bone induction audio transducers). It will almost certainly include some kind of haptic feedback using clothing or by directly stimulating your nervous system. It may also include projectors, flat screens, lighting arrays or other types of audio/visual technology you might use to create your imagined enhanced environment. No matter what kind of experience you are thinking about, consumers will need the proper kit to take advantage of your creativity.
Palmer suggested that sensors, edge computing, cloud layers, artificial intelligence layers, fast-identity online apps and proper network infrastructure are all needed to be a part of your kit.
No such trusted intelligence layer exists, yet … so maybe that is No. 1 on your wish list.
OK, now this is your chance. I am not Santa, but send me your wish list and let’s see if we can send your list off to a hard-working elf or loved one, and let’s see what your fellow fans think of your wishes. Send me an email at mike.blake@mountvernonnews.com and let’s talk sports.
