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December 31, 2013 4:08 PM   Subscribe

 
Don't forget the linesmen.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 4:18 PM on December 31, 2013


I'm waiting until the puck is a camera.
posted by dogwalker at 4:23 PM on December 31, 2013 [1 favorite]


All players have helmet cams, and viewers can pick and choose from all available cameras during event coverage.

That was the hope for the last Cisco Flip video (the one that never saw release). The idea was everyone could lifestream and you could pick from anyone's camera. This would make rock concerts awesome. Instead they killed a winning product.

The problem I had with the ref helmet…those guys have a boring job. Seriously, I'd rather have a coach microphone.
posted by cjorgensen at 4:24 PM on December 31, 2013 [1 favorite]


Thanks for this, it's fantastic. I'm curious, though -- are the ref's interactions with the players in the NHL similar to these?
posted by Simon Barclay at 4:46 PM on December 31, 2013


Yeah, I was wondering the same. I was really struck by how congenial most of the game was...in between the occasional outbursts of brutal assault.

Like The Daily Dot article, I'd love to see this catch on. I'm not a sports guy and only have the basic understanding of hockey rules, but I was captivated by this and watched it straight through.
posted by Ian A.T. at 4:51 PM on December 31, 2013


The problem I had with the ref helmet…those guys have a boring job.

Funny, I had a totally opposite reaction; maybe it's because I'm not a hockey guy, so most of the rules and calls go over my head, but this would be a great way to learn more about the technical parts of the game.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 4:53 PM on December 31, 2013


I posted this because I'm not a sports guy at all, yet this is the longest I've ever watched any hockey straight through. It was a great new way to watch. You really see how fast everyone is, how hard they hit, and I loved watching the interaction between the ref and the players. I always wondered how they had an almost magical way of getting out of trouble...now I know they're just yelling "BEHIND! I! AM! BEHIND! YOU!"
posted by nevercalm at 5:00 PM on December 31, 2013 [6 favorites]


Recently a mixed martial arts referee shot a fight with a Google Glass. The result was just as interesting, I think. (starts at 3:24)
posted by averageamateur at 5:03 PM on December 31, 2013 [1 favorite]


I'm a hockey fan and I would totally pay a premium to be able to hear all the player/ref chirping during the game. I understand they couldn't broadcast it on TV because of the crazy amount of editing they'd have to do, but they could easily offer it as a bonus to an NHL Center Ice package or something.
posted by AndyP at 5:19 PM on December 31, 2013 [3 favorites]


I seem to recall an NFL or other professional helmet-ball game running with a helmet cam many many years ago. Exciting live coverage, especially when he was hit so hard the helmet flew off.

Aha! YouTube video would be nice, but here's a scanned newspaper to prove my sanity.
posted by tilde at 5:20 PM on December 31, 2013


The Reddit thread on this a week or so ago had great links to other videos by amateur and professional refs, and on-ice mic moments (including this must-see pre-fight moment), and an all-around good discussion, with everything SFW as far as I could see.
posted by oneironaut at 5:25 PM on December 31, 2013 [5 favorites]


Must have been filmed in the Canadian part of North Carolina.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 5:59 PM on December 31, 2013 [2 favorites]


What hockey coverage really needs is some kind of glowing indicator of where the puck is... Maybe it could get, like, a comet's tail if it was going really fast?
posted by Pre-Taped Call In Show at 6:09 PM on December 31, 2013 [4 favorites]


Funny, I had a totally opposite reaction; maybe it's because I'm not a hockey guy, so most of the rules and calls go over my head, but this would be a great way to learn more about the technical parts of the game.

I'm not a hockey guy either, but when you get down to the "rules and calls" I get bored. I just want to see the goals and fights.
posted by cjorgensen at 6:19 PM on December 31, 2013


Here's another mma ref cam, one of the most anticipated fights in mma history.

Also see this one, for a much quicker dispatching
posted by spacediver at 6:21 PM on December 31, 2013 [1 favorite]


rugby union has been experimenting with this recently, while 20 20 "cricket" has been miking up players and putting cameras all around the ground for quite a while.
posted by wilful at 6:26 PM on December 31, 2013


"I'm curious, though -- are the ref's interactions with the players in the NHL similar to these?"
I'm only guessing here, but since this is the AHL and considered a developmental league for the NHL, perhaps the refs are more inclined (or instructed) to give a little education with their calls. I noticed several times that the ref would explain in detail what made him call what he did. I honestly think that at the top Pro level the players don't get much more than a whistle and a signal.
posted by TDavis at 6:29 PM on December 31, 2013


i would like to see this in association football. i've never seen a ref change his mind on a call, so arguing with them seems like a invariably fruitless endeavour. i'd be interested to hear what the players are yelling.
posted by triceryclops at 7:05 PM on December 31, 2013


> Must have been filmed in the Canadian part of North Carolina.

I attended a Carolina Hurricanes game last month (and have a Jeff Skinner bobblehead doll to prove it). The Raleigh-Durham Triangle Park area is heavily populated by people born in the northeast or in other countries, and in many areas north eastern accents are as prevalent as southern... but yeah. the crowd in that arena was the most Canadianny-New Englandish I'd experienced since last visiting Canada and New England.

Charlotte's an even larger city than Raleigh with its own major corporate culture so I wouldn't be surprised if the same thing is true at hockey games there.
posted by ardgedee at 7:09 PM on December 31, 2013


...a bit sea sick...

*URP*, indeed. It would be more watchable if the camera was angled down to show more players and ice (and less crowd), and by image stabilization to reduce the ref's herky-jerky reactions.
posted by cenoxo at 8:37 AM on January 1, 2014


Watching this only further re-enforces my observations that sportsmanship in hockey is greatly lacking. Cool idea tho.
posted by MrBobaFett at 6:55 PM on January 1, 2014


Good job, boys said to men pummeling each other.
posted by e40 at 11:08 AM on January 4, 2014


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