Passage V

Replay It Again

[1]

"This is not live! Ladies and gentlemen, Army did not score again!" declared the television announcer during the 1963 Army-Navy football game. Army's quarterback had just carried the ball over the goal line to score a one-yard touchdown. Fans in the stands saw the touchdown only once. Fans watching the telecast, however, were astounded as they witnessed the play twice, thanks to the first instant replay, in this case a touchdown, in a live event.

[2]

Responsible for this innovation Tony Verna, a television sports broadcaster and director of the Army Navy game. Often bored by the lag time in between plays, Verna had toyed with the idea of filling them with replays of what had occurred on the field. He wanted to rerun footage of important, extraordinary, or controversial plays. [A] The replays could be from different vantage points or in slow motion. Above all, he wanted the replay to be broadcast immediately.

[3]

Vera authored several books about his broadcasting career. Videotapes could not be cued precisely; there was no way to find a particular moment in the footage. Vera's use of a system of multiple videotape decks, solved this problem. [B] At the start and stop of each play, he would transmit beeps to an unused audio track on the recording. These beeps would bookmark moments of action. Verna could then rewind the tape, listen for the beeps, and restart the play at the chosen spot.

[4]

Instant replay became a fixture in football, it changed the way games are officiated and watched. Fractions of seconds can be slowed down and analyzed. [C] An official who rules that a running back took the ball into the end zone might have his call reversed when the replay shows the back was stopped just short. Fans really feel a part of the whole deal, making their own judgments about whether the wide receivers foot was in bounds after he caught a pass. Instant replay reveals the truth that cannot always be perceived by the human eye in real time. And, it has potential, the outcome of the game—or even a season—is altered. [D]