[mlmpetert]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

I think with any sport on TV they try to make you feel like you're part of the action.

I hate some college basketball arenas that have the super high camera angle.

Super high angels do suck but nothing pisses me off more than when you have a fast break in bball with an inevitable dunk and the network switches to an underneath the hoop type shot at the last second for the dunk. Or when a station thinks a top of the backboard camera angel should be used for anything but replays.

March Madness attracts a lot of people who woulnt care at all if not for the office pool, parties, or bragging rights kind of stuff. Kind of like how tons of people watch their first nfl game of the seaon when they go to a superbowl party. In an attempt to make a game seem more exciting to “whos winning the match” type fans networks have started to use flashy and regularly changing camera angles. It all has to do with ratings.

I also believe this is also the primary reason why we are seeing all these rule changes that protect and benefit the offense in the nfl. Casual fans don’t want to see a first half marked by outstanding defensive play. Not everyone is keenly aware of great coverage that sets up a 2nd or 3rd and long or even a big stop on 3rd down, but everyone knows what a TD means (even if your girlfriend still has a hard time saying 6 points instead of 7).

Its all about trying to get more and more casual fans to watch and maybe even turn them into real fans. Unfortunately this means crappy tv angels that are filmed too close and waiting to make sure a flag wasn’t thrown before celebrating a big defensive play. At the end of the day devoted fans may not like this stuff but most of us will live with it. But if a casual fan isn’t kept happy, he’ll just change the channel.