I can still remember the feeling.
It was January 2002. The New England Patriots were playing the Oakland Raiders in a Divisional Playoff Game, and Tom Brady had just been strip sacked by Charles Woodson. The Raiders recovered, seemingly sealing a trip to the AFC Championship Game.
The replay booth wanted to review the play though, and as the referees moved to a replay booth on the side of the field, 60,000 fans stood in silence while a steady snow fell quietly as if it were falling in a desolate forest.
When the referees finally emerged from the sidelines, reversed the call, and awarded the ball back to New England, every Patriots fan in that stadium knew their home team would emerge victorious. Not a single fan sat down again until that game had ended. With every five-yard pass, three-yard run, and third down conversion, fans high-fived each other like children experiencing their first professional sporting event.
That game will forever be known as the “Snow Bowl” if you root for New England and the “Tuck Rule Game” if you root for anyone else. I will always remember that game for two reasons. First, it was the first Patriots game I ever attended without my dad, who was in Florida tending to my grandfather at the time. Second, as I walked back to the car to go home, I felt a level of exhaustion that I believed rivaled that of the 22 players on the field that night. Ironically, that exhaustion didn’t help me fall asleep. I must have spent hours laying in bed staring at the ceiling, reliving every moment from that game. I think every other fan in Foxboro Stadium experienced the same feelings that night.
I thought about that game this past week as I wrote an article about how the New England Patriots are using technology to improve the fan experience at Gillette Stadium. The experience of attending a New England home game, like myself, has matured since 2002. In an effort to compete with the three C’s of home viewing – cost, comfort, and convenience – franchises like the Patriots have begun introducing new technology to make attending a game more exclusive and interactive.
As a SportTechie, I think that’s great. The idea that I can watch replays that fans at home won’t get or watch a camera devoted solely to Tom Brady is exciting. But with that excitement comes concern. Concern because when I think about all this new technology, I think back to that game in January 2002. I think back to the moments after the strip sack was overturned and New England kept the ball. I think back to the camaraderie I felt with the other fans in our section. There was a shared understanding among everyone in Foxboro Stadium that night. We were a part of something special in a way that fans in their living rooms just wouldn’t understand.
Will that feeling ever exist again in the age of smartphones, robust Wi-Fi networks, and exclusive media content? Will fans unabashedly high-five after big plays and be the 12th man when opponents face a critical third-down conversion attempt. Or will they just be looking down at their phones, oblivious to the unique view they already have directly in front of them?
I don’t mean for this post to be an anti-technology post. When I look at the big picture, I know these new technologies are critical to the success of stadium venues and sports franchises, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to go to my first Patriots game this season and try their new mobile app first hand. I just can’t stop thinking about that game in January 2002. Will I ever truly experience that again, or will the tantalizing glow of my smartphone distract me from the one perspective no HDTV can truly replicate at home?