When we hear Monday Night Football what jumps to mind for many of us soccer fans all over the world is the cheeky Gary Neville doing his bit calling the English Premiere League on Sky Sports. In Australia, Monday Night Football means a fixture of the National Rugby League delivered by two of Australia's greatest ever "footy" players Andrew Johns and Peter Sterling. Here in my adopted country of the USA it's all about the NFL … and over the last 18 hours or so, MNF has lit up riveting commentary since the "touchception" call by the (replacement) referees in the game–winning last play for the Seattle Seahawks victory over the Green Bay Packers.
It intrigued me how much real estate this (passionate) conversation is taking up online (including some f-bombs via Twitter from heated players after the game). Although not unfamiliar with the power of sport to bring people together (for good or for bad) it spurred me to take a look at the forces at play. Just a Canadian trying to make sense of things…
NFL as Sport Crack
There are an insanely large number of eyeballs watching MNF. It has become an iconic franchise of sport TV over its 40 years on air. In its history MNF has registered eight of the top 10 all-time biggest
household audiences on pay television - this is massive viewership people. It's hosted celebrity guests like John Lennon and former President Bill Clinton. People, a lot of them, watch. Despite the frustration of Monday night's drama, it's arguable that viewership will remain stable. The NFL seems to have a stronghold on it fans, the brand loyalty is sky high to the point of inelasticity, it's sport crack in the USA. It's being talked about every week between Labor Day and Thanksgiving and through to Superbowl.
Ref Lockout
Replacement refs were behind the whistle Monday night, a result of a lockout following the NFL and referee union being at odds. After the incumbent refs were denied their requests by the league (sticking points are pension plan and pay for performance), the division one college refs stepped aside so the NFL have settled for division two level personnel. This adds another layer of scrutiny and opinions around labour action. The refs are evidently having a very real impact on the quality of the games causing a lot of frustration. Perhaps negotiations would have been resolved more quickly if the NFL could have foreseen the level of fan, player and coach discontent.
Underdogs
The Seattle Seahawks were the underdogs and the game-changing call in their favour saw a massive shift in the sportsbooks and fantasy leagues. With so much at stake in the lucrative modern game, it's not enough to let human error control the outcome. I'm no expert in a lot of things and most especially in sportbooks, all I know is there is a raging football pool going on at my office this season which has managed to blatantly expose our competitive natures, not all pretty… but extremely fun. Clearly we're not the only ones with pride or more riding on the games.
Technology
Although the result of Monday's game was not totally left to human error it was what was ultimately decisive. All of us sitting at home on couches were treated to instant replays … in slow motion … and from multiple camera angles. The refs were treated to the same (NFL refs have had access to instant replays since 1986 and in 1999 the NFL gave coaches the ability to demand for an instant replay review of a call) as they stuffed their heads under the tv hood and the result shows that despite our level of technological sophistication, poor refereeing decisions remain a reality. In some sports it's easier to come to a clear cut winner, although this year's Olympic Trials proved that even in sprinting, with a camera that shoots 3,000 frames per second, it's possible to have an inconclusive photo finish. Tennis has Hawk-Eye where players have a set number of challenges that players can make. Swimming has touchpads that accurately indicate a clear winner within hundredths of a second. Soccer is launching goal-line technology in the EPL for the 2013/14 season (thanks in big part to this goal-non-goal moment here) and two systems will be tested at the Club World Cup this year. UEFA President Michel Platini however is still convinced that using additional assistant refs is the way to go. Platini is blocking goal-line technology from being used in UEFA competitions - he thinks the cost and effort to scale it out across national associations is too high. Competition in sport shows that technological sophistication can help the integrity of decision making but there will always be room for human error.
Rule Interpretation
I'm not even going to begin to try to unbutton the rules of football, but the NFL Referee Association supported the decision from Monday night. As we saw in the Olympic soccer competition this summer, rule interpretation can too be game-changing.
Refereeing is supposed to channel the chaos of competition into a place where fair play reigns. When this doesn't happen people react in an extremely passionate way regardless of where you are in the world and what type of Monday Night Football you enjoy watching. It's one of sports greatest challenges.
Please share this post if you liked it, loved it, found it inspiring, or funny (that's unlikely, I'm not that funny) or your eyes were zapped open by amazement - thanks!
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