A Potential Audience Saver

Tying together ideas about the new technologies that are on the cusp of coming out and present day challenges are something that might not be expected in this journal entry. After the tandem of reading the Canadian Media Fund report from January 2020 entitled “Closer, Wider, Faster: Annual Trends Report in the Audiovisual Industry” and watching an interview conducted by Scott Brown with Winnipeg Jets’ forward Andrew Copp, to write about both of these presentations, which may not seem related on the surface was the only way to scribe this analysis. Sometimes, necessity is the mother of invention -- or in this case, the kick in the butt that it needs to be utilized in a way it may not have originally been envisioned. Though the chances of the ideas being set forth in this writing are slim to none, if they are imagined and shared by a lone hockey reporter who thinks outside the box much of the time, this idea is no longer a silent imagining. The idea will be presented, with the hopes it may be utilized sometime in the near future.

The Canadian Media Fund report is focused on the introduction of “Screen Based Industries in the 5G Era.” As the article states, “The ‘G’ in 4G and 5G stands for ‘generation’, whereas the number represents the technology’s evolution.” Certainly, in times of self-isolation, and with internet connections that can sometimes be a bit sluggish with the current 4G networks available around most of the world, it can be a slight bit frustrating, to put it nicely. The 5G networks, in theory, are a lot faster in that it promises to support “a greater number of simultaneous connections, which will allow smartphones, wearables, sensors, self-driving vehicles, robots, and other connected devices to share bandwidth without incumbering the signal.” Another perk, in theory about a 5G network, is that they should offer download speeds 20 times faster than current 4G networks, along with very low latency, or simply put, the speed would be a lot faster. As in, only being a milisecond slower than “real time”, unlike the 4G lagtime of 50 miliseconds behind the very same real time.

Now, how does this tie in with professional sports, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic when, in some juristidictions, gatherings of more than 10 people are illegal? Certainly, getting fans into a rink to watch an NHL game in person is a large part of the experience for the players themselves. This was something which Andrew Copp mentioned in his interview on April 21st, when he stated, “It’ll be interesting to see whether that’s playing in front of fans, no fans, neutral site, or in our home buildings -- I think we’re all just hoping for the best, and hoping for as normal of a return as possible, but I think there’s a chance that it’s not exactly as clean cut … hope we can find a way to play, whether it’s with the fans, without fans, just trying to find a way to finish the season and play out the playoffs.”

When posed the question by Scott Brown about playing in an empty rink, Copp was very quick to answer.

“It’s definitely not preferred, I think fans are a huge part of why the NHL’s such a great [sports’ league], it would be really eerie just playing in a quiet building, it’s just something we might have to face in the future.”

That eerie futuristic silent hockey game -- or any pro sports game, for that matter -- is a real possibility. However, if the 5G networks were set up, in theory, the sports’ arena or hockey rinks -- which might be in areas where the “more than 10 people gathered together” laws have been set up for public safety from Covid-19 -- may not be legally able to have the fans there, but the fans could virtually be there, thanks to the two-way connection that, in theory, 5G has promised. Having speakers put into the sports’ venues so that fans from home could have a microphone set up on their computer and yell out their cheers and jeers (as most sports’ fans do anyway at the TV set) to have them piped into said venue for the game or event they are watching. This would give people, around the globe, the opportunity to participate in games and events as if they are actually there. Also, psychologically speaking, it would give the athletes a boost knowing that many people were watching their games and/or events. After all, isn’t that what this sort of interactive media is meant to do, to help connect people, and communicate with them?

About the only thing a fan couldn’t do via this technology is throw a hat onto the ice when a player scores a hat trick, but the chorus of voices would be fabulous, especially when a chant for one’s team starts up. Anyone who has taken part in such a chant first hand knows what kind of a positive effect that has on a team. There have been games where a simple chant started up for a team, for example, when a visiting hockey team was behind by 2 goals with less than 3 minutes left in a game. A small chorus of voices, starting out with a photographer surrounded by children, grew into a booming chorus as others joined in, which resulted in the visiting team tying up said game, then with one minute left in the game, seeing the visitors scoring the game winner. When the photographer arrived home that night, her mother let her know how the voices sounded over the radio broadcast. As the photographer’s mother put it, “That was magic!”

Anyone from any walk of life, be they students studying film or international studies by distance education, or those working on the front lines of this pandemic coming home after a long shift (or double shift) and needing to let off some steam, or anyone in general who is a sports’ fan would likely agree, if this technology can be applied in this way, it may help with planking the curve. Also, it may help those professional athletes realize, they are not as alone as the empty stadium or rink may make them feel. The players and coaches might hear the bellowing of TRUE NORTH during the singing of the O Canada (if it’s a Jets’ game), which generally elicits a grin from a few of the players even before the puck drops. The players would hear the reactions from the distant audiences, be that cheering for goals being scored, to someone being tripped up with no call when the referee is a foot away from the play, to even the highly emotional reverance of cheering when a team captain lifts a certain piece of silverwear above his head, and passes it along to his teammates. This technology could help, in a lot of ways during a rather dark time in human history.

Maybe people reading this will crack up and think it’s an overly optimistic idea. Or perhaps, someone out there who has some influence in getting 5G networks, like the one already set up in most of Saskatchewan, will read this. After all, on page 12 of the Canadian Media Fund’s 2020 report, it did state the deployment of this kind of network is “Upcoming (probably by 2020)” for a nationwide 5G network in Canada.