In response to my article on favoring instant replay in sports, I was dealt, what seemed like, a challenge.
Why not take the instant replay debate as it pertains to Major League Baseball, and give the argument about how allowing it would negatively impact the sport?
To that I say: GAME ON!
I figured this would be a way to really test my own opinions, and to kind of explore why it is avoided like the bubonic plague in the MLB.
The only rationale I ever hear, and I can somewhat understand, is that this could seriously impact how long games run.
Yes, I know what I said about this, but remember folks, DEVIL'S ADVOCATE HERE!!
Anyway, I grew up around baseball, both playing and watching. It is a sport I know good and well.
One thing I know is that no matter what age, level or league it involves, games have a tendency to remind me of high school algebra.
You know the feeling: sitting in the back of the classroom as the teacher drones on about algebraic expressions and the Pythagorean Theorem, and the severe urge to have your head fall on the desk and subsequently allow the sound of JEEB JEEB JEEB to echo through the room.
Yeah that one!
Baseball games can sometime have the same feeling.
I have been at many games where the team I was rooting for or playing for was down something like 8-0 in the 4th inning.
Those games never end!
And yeah, I wouldn't want to worry about a replay that would put my team down 10-0 causing another millennium of waiting time.
So that couldn't honestly be something that negatively impacts the sport and the league.
With replay, fans could opt out of going to games, opt out of watching games, or just flat out opt out of the sport.
So what we're faced with, as fans, is a double-edged sword.
Whether the leagues favor or oppose the implementation of replay in their sports, someone is going to be unhappy.
So before honestly making the quick "I'm for" or "I'm against" stance, take a serious look at the issue and the problems surrounding it.
The positives have been stated time and time again, while the negatives seem to be silenced.
Take everything into consideration and make sure you know why it is you have that stance.
Instant Replay: Time to Play Devil's Advocate
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2 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
MJ Kasprzak about 1 year ago
You were not a very good Devil's advocate, but then he doesn't deserve one! And I agree that the No Replay folks are in his corner: I also hear them claim it undermines the decisiveness of umpires. How? Do they really have to be decisive on a home run? And you could just make the limits real, unlike in the NFL where they go over all the time. I want the call to be right, and I don't care about some dude's ego!
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Ian Robinett about 1 year ago
Hey I tried... Ok who I am I kidding I suck!
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