The Magic of Sports

In a recent article, Bryan Burwell talks about how the old traditionalists of baseball should welcome the introduction of instant replays and technology, for the good of the game. He argues that no longer would games, and important ones at that, be marred by wrong umpire decisions on wrong home run calls.

However, proponents of technology-assisted game calling fail to see the core reason why any sport, like baseball, fascinate millions of fans worldwide:

The controversy and drama that sports can create.

It is all good if games always have the right decisions made - so that in fairness, every team get what they deserve. However, in such a perfect scenario, there would be nothing to talk about except for the performances and results. There would be nothing to be enthralled over except achievements of the best teams.

Getting the bad end of the stick of an errorneous umpire decision can suck for the team on the receiving end, but it creates talking points. It creates news. It generates controversy which fans all over the world will remember over time.

And that is what sports, and baseball, needs to thrive on. Without it, you get pure, sanitised and boring games. Why bother with that when you get the same from playing computer sports games?