‘Referee Cam’ Makes Debut During WNBA Game
By Josh Hill
Sports is a business and part of business is always trying to improve your product. That’s exactly what the WNBA is trying to as they debuted a new camera angle called “Referee Cam” on Saturday night during the Phoenix Mercury’s game against the Indiana Fever. Veteran official Lamont Simpson wore the camera during the game and said after the first half the goggles and camera became more comfortable to wear and weren’t at all bothersome to his officiating.
“The first half, it took some adjusting to, especially when you started running and actually broke a sweat,” Simpson said, via USA Today. “The goggles started to loosen up and the sweat around the band started to loosen up. The first half was pretty much just adjusting the headset.”
WNBA president Laurel Richie said that the new innovation will help put the WNBA on the forefront of new technology in sports and how they are viewed at home by fans everywhere.
“Today’s broadcast was a great opportunity to be at the forefront in terms of providing viewers with unique perspectives on our game,” Richie said according to an AP report. “The use of Ref Cam certainly offered a previously unseen point of view that really brought viewers into the action, adding a whole new visual and audio component to the experience.”
It’s yet to be seen if the Referee Cam will stick and carry onto other sports, but for sports leagues struggling to stake an angle on the wide world they live in, something like a Referee Cam can be a way to stand out among the clones. The NFL revolutionized the Sky Cam which is used as often now as standard set cameras and more innovations seem to be on the way.
But for now, Simpson says he’s now a believer in the Referee Cam and wouldn’t mind seeing it again.
“I’d like to see it done again,” Simpson said, via the AP. “I would gladly do it again. Seriously, I think it’s something they should really consider.”