How Close Are We To A Hologram Super Bowl Broadcast?

Justin:

A college friend of mine once hypothesized that computer graphics have gotten so good that we could potentially be watching computer generated "players" duking it out on the field/rink/whatever. It got me thinking about how far off are we from viewing holographic sporting events. For instance, during the Stanley Cup Finals, the team on the road sometimes has their fans come to their building to view the game on the jumbotron and spend $9 on beer.

Do you think the technology will ever exist where fans can watch their team on the road at their home arena via holograms? Imagine, going to the arena where your team plays and watching holographic representations of the players on the rink or field. It would actually be like you're at the game. Fuck the Super Bowl. I'll just go to my local high school field to see it.

Yes, I think that'll happen. It'll be just like the Holochess scene in Star Wars. LET THE WOOKIE WIN.

Hologram sports broadcasts are a natural endpoint of 3D technology. The technology could become so advanced that you could begin watching sporting events on a screen that projects UP instead of OUT. The game could rise up from the screen, so that you're watching the game as if you're sitting in the stadium. You could also rotate angles and zoom in and out as you saw fit, or let the network do it for you (you'd probably still be stuck with Dan Dierdorf for lower tier matchups though). Perhaps there will come a day when you can make the hologram surround you, just as we have Surround Sound now. Like standing on a holodeck, in which case you would probably switch away from the game to holoporn within a matter of seconds.

Something like that will probably be possible sometime in the future (or perhaps a virtual rendering of the game that you can "be in" while wearing Google Glass). The problem is that BIG TELEVISION adopts these advances at a glacial pace. Everything must be monetized first before it can be implemented. And if ESPN decides that it's not worth broadcasting Monday Night Football in HoloVision because the nation's grandpas are still watching from a standard def TV, then you're stuck waiting forever. Fucking ESPN. I bet they have hologames set to go already. HoloGruden would be horrifying.

Now, before we get into the Kinja-osity below, just a quick reminder that I'll be doing a reading at Book Court in Brooklyn on Monday night. You can find out more details here. Afterward, we're all gonna get drinks at Floyd. According to the great Matt Ufford, "They have something there called the Crapucopia — a bucket of 6 cans of random shitty beer (Genesee Cream Ale, Schlitz, PBR, etc) — for $12." I MUST HAVE IT.

Also, I'll be manning a booth at the Brooklyn Baby Expo on Sunday afternoon. Holy shit, I can't even imagine what that's gonna be like. Five thousand babies all named Grayson. Should be amusing.

Anyway, down into the Funbag we go...

Drew Magary writes for Deadspin and Gawker. He's also a correspondent for GQ. Follow him on Twitter @drewmagary and email him at [email protected]. You can also buy Drew's new book, "Someone Could Get Hurt," in time for Father's Day through his homepage.