WI: No "score bug"?

[Hadley]

For those who dont know, the score bug is the graphic on screen during sporting events that displays the current score at all times (as opposed to when the team scores). What if this never caught on, would it have a major effect on sports or not?

 

[Machiavelli Jr]

For those who dont know, the score bug is the graphic on screen during sporting events that displays the current score at all times (as opposed to when the team scores). What if this never caught on, would it have a major effect on sports or not?

I can't see it making a massive difference in general, but there have been historical cases of teams losing track of what the score was and e.g. not pushing for a winner because they thought they were ahead, you might get more of those.

 

[Dancing Fool]

displays the current score at all times

This is so much for bars, restaurants, and casual fans. Without this, sports remains somewhat more for the serious fan.

 

[Puzzle]

This is so much for bars, restaurants, and casual fans. Without this, sports remains somewhat more for the serious fan.

Ironically the original view on the scorebug was that it would turn off casual fans, who wouldn't need to be watching the game to know the score and could just flip away. The Ringer did a great article on Fox buying into the NFL and part of that was the discussion about the scorebug.

David Hill’s most controversial idea about the NFL was his simplest: He thought the score and clock should have a permanent home on the screen — a feature that became known as the “Fox Box.” A noisy group of critics and rival executives thought the Fox Box was a terrible idea. It would clutter the screen and drive people away from blowouts. But Hill was convinced, because he’d created a proto–Fox Box after a frustrating afternoon watching soccer in the U.K.

 

[Dancing Fool]

The Ringer did a great article on Fox buying into the NFL

I kind of agree that it clutters the screen. Imagine a movie at the theater continuously having a little box of info at the bottom of the screen.

 

[Dancing Fool]

Ironically the original view on the scorebug was that it would turn off casual fans

Unplug the NFL - Conservapedia

www.conservapedia.com

“Unplug the NFL is advocated by Conservapedia in response to the NFL's paganism, its shortening of lifespans, its lack of true athletic competitiveness, its promotion of gambling (more than 23M Americans bet on the Super Bowl) rather than sportsmanship, its bilking of taxpayers of billions for stadiums, and its exclusion of Tim Tebow . . . ”

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This is just too juicy!

I agree with them on the gambling. Whatever reasons the “Score Bug” started, it’s likely to be maintained because it allows fantasy football gamblers to channel surf and quickly see status. I actually think sports betting can be as bad as heroin. And I’m damn disappointed that the leagues [baseball, too] allow in-your-face ads for gambling during their broadcasts [I take what I think of as the Baptist view that a vice should be available, but not in-your-face].

Now, for the “NFL’s paganism” ? ! ?

This is just too much fun! Now, they cannot mean the animal mascots, can they? Now, the Minnesota Vikings have this pre-game drum and chant, which I guess if you squint at a certain way could look like a pagan ritual. And on a single occasion, the New Orleans Saints brought in an honest-to-gosh Voodoo priestess to “reverse the curse” or some such nonsense. But these sure seem like small data points, and people who just want to come to this conclusion in the first place.

Please tell me they do not mean this by the “NFL’s paganism” ? ! ?