As I was watching SportsCenter last week, they showed a segment called ‘Sports Science’ which examined the controversial ending to the New England Patriots vs Carolina Panthers game. With the Patriots down 4 with seconds remaining, the game ended on a Tom Brady incompletion intended for Rob Gronkowski in the endzone. However, there appeared to be pass interference on the play which was originally called but then reversed. There was much uproar, especially from the New England players, coaches, and fans as they fell short of the victory.
The sports science team broke down the play, presenting many facts such as how fast Gronkowski was running, the rate at which he decelerated, and the force at which the opposing player who interfered with him provided. It was honestly quite fascinating that they were able to determine all these facts and break down the play in an in-depth manner. Eventually, they determined that if Gronkowski had not been interfered with, he very well may have been able to make the catch and thus, give New England the victory.
It is truly fascinating how far science and technology have advanced throughout our history that scientists can project the ending to a football game by using advanced formulas and methodology. This was especially interesting to me considering I am a huge sports fan and watched the entire game. As I looked more into sports science, they have done many other segments as well, with features such as the force of a boxing punch to the true effects of Gatorade on an athlete during a game. It really just does go to show that science is anywhere and everywhere and it factors into everything!
Gotta love when the Pats lose, eh? Big fan of sports and Sports Science respectively. I don’t know if you remember when Marshawn Lynch was on Sports Science and they compared him pulling over 2.5 times his weight to a truck pulling the same percentage of weight behind it. However Marshawn is pulling tires, on a piece of smooth metal across a astroturf field only 5 yards. The truck is attempting to pull cement blocks, on a cement street, when all the weight is in the front of the truck, clearly the tires just spin and the truck goes no where proving that Marshawn, pound for pound is more forceful that a diesel truck. This is absolutely absurd. Check out the video, the fallacies are numerous. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1t1pd46st8
I love SportsScience, and I think it’s a great part of SportsCenter. I watched that game, and I definitely thought it was pass interference. Here’s a breakdown of that final play:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7L_7qIPkKU
I think this is a great article and great point to bring up! Science has come so far in general and in recent years. It is not the most appealing topic to some people but when applied to things that have much interest such as football or sports it brings in a wider group of people. It is a fun and interesting way to learn about developments in science but also get a different take on a game or play. The rising shows such as sports science will get more people interested and involved and talking about the developments in science and technology. It is an amazing show sports science runs and here is another great episode of it!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB7gnB31NnI This episode shows the training one guy has gone through to not be affected by pain. It measures his body and reaction to pounds of force and velocity initiated on his body. I think you’ll find it interesting!