Midway through the third quarter of the NFL’s first, and
hopefully not last, snow-covered game of 2015, Al Michaels introduced a cool
addition to Sunday Night Football coverage, which is already the best broadcast
in sports. Crediting Fred Gaudelli, the show’s producer, Michael introduced
“virutal numbers” which allowed viewers to see the numbers and yard markers
obscured by the steady snow that was falling in Denver.
NBC kept up the numbers during both live play and replay
and, as is usual with the newest of sports technologies, one could barely tell
they weren’t real.
Part of me liked the confusion when watching a snow game and
having no idea where a team is on the field, but turns out I was just like
those people who actually believe rain on your wedding day is good luck. It was
just something you say to lie to yourself to attempt to make the best of a bad
situation. Because when you see the virtual numbers, you realize that actually
knowing the yard line is so much better. Isn’t it ironic? Don’t you think?