Why 3-D Soccer Broadcasts Are Not For Me

The hype about 3-D in recent weeks has been immense. First it was ESPN announcing it would unveil the first 3-D television network this summer and would show up to 25 World Cup games in 3-D. Second, Sky Sports debuted the first Premier League game in 3-D when it broadcasted Arsenal against Manchester United in three dimension at select locations around England. And then, of course, there was this little film named Avatar that became the highest grossing movie worldwide of all time.

I’ve held back from offering my opinion on the subject until now. So, speaking on behalf of soccer fans, here’s what “we” think:

We never asked for it. We never wanted it. We don’t want to watch TV with goggles on. We don’t want to buy a special TV to watch games in 3-D. We don’t want gimmicks. We just want quality soccer broadcasts.

There, I’ve said it. Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, you can see why I haven’t written about the topic until now because I didn’t want to join in the hype. Rather than invest enormous time, money and resources into developing 3-D technology, companies such as ESPN and Sky Sports would be better suited in developing technology to enhance the 2-D presentation of its current soccer matches. Find new and innovative ways to show the viewer whether an attacker was offside. Give viewers a birds-eye view of what it’s like to watch the game from a seat in the stadium (and how much better the TV picture is). Provide us new and interesting camera angles. Improve the quality of the TV production so it’s more like the Bundesliga where pundits are on the field before a game begins and you get to really feel the passion and hear the noise from the stadium.

Sorry folks but 3-D television is not for me. I don’t want a headache while watching a game and I don’t want to spill beer over myself when the goggles mess with my depth perception.

This is a product that has been created where there is zero pent-up demand for it. It’s 2010 and we’re still clamoring for HD broadcasts let alone games in 3-D. Let’s revisit the technology in a few years from now when the technology has improved, the costs for 3-D television sets have dropped and when there’s actually an interest and demand for it, and then – maybe then – we’ll be ready for it. But not now.