Technology has been permeating every facet of sports since the 1990s, but it feels like there’s been an acceleration in this adoption since the early 2010s. We’re not just talking about one sport here, either; whether it’s soccer, football, basketball, or baseball, the increasing use of technology has been a polarizing topic for fans and analysts who want to find the balance between keeping the authenticity of the game in line with changing technological attitudes.

While some sports like horse racing and athletics have used photo finish technology for over a century, it was more complicated to implement some of the more nuanced requests, whether it was goal-line technology in soccer or video refereeing in American football.

Exploring Technology In American Sports

One of the first significant changes in sporting technology came in baseball. The development of the speed gun in the 1970s meant that, for the first time, technology could be used to measure the speed of a pitch.

Now, baseball fans who know your stuff will be aware that various rudimentary tools were used to measure pitches that have been around for over 100 years. However, the development of the pitching gun, which could be accurately used to measure speed, was one of the most transformative changes when we’re looking at the history of how technology has been implemented in sports.

Within a few years of development, it recorded a Nolan Ryan throw of 108mph, making it the fastest pitch ever thrown in the MLB. However, some dispute the accuracy of the measurement, as the instrument was still relatively primitive. A throw of 108mph in 1974 would have been mind-blowingly fast, setting him streets ahead of the other top pitchers in the league at the time.

As the MLB is now in the technological realm of AI measuring every possible player stat and trying to find the best solution, and as it also begins to permeate our lives, 50 years ago, the speed-measuring gun was a revelation. Although mobile apps can now help us measure the speed for ourselves and pocket radar technology that many sports analysts and coaching teams use, it opened the door for widespread technological implementations within the US sporting industry.

How Do Analysts Use Sports Technology?

Well - it depends on the sport. Video replay technology in American football and basketball can help analysts dissect the performance of a team or player. If we dive deeper into other sports that have introduced recent seismic changes as part of their transformation into a more modern brand - soccer uses semi-automatic offside technology. The tech underlies it is an inertial sensor that fuses an accelerometer and an angular velocity sensor, also known as a gyroscope. In theory, it’s used to accurately detect motion, body positioning, speed, and position to measure whether or not a player is offside or whether a ball has crossed the line.

However, those of us who watch the Premier League know there have been discrepancies and dubious calls that have cast doubt on the long-term usage of this tech. With the Premier League investing so much money and time into it, though, it’s unlikely to be scrapped anytime soon.

Exploring Grassroots Analysis

Many influencers and sports fans on social media will use technology to try and conjure their own analysis and facts. Some of these influencers offer some good insights, and while we’re not going to say that there aren’t some out there who come out with some left-field and outrageous takes (usually for clickbait) - many will use this technology to perform deep breakdowns of teams, players and the way they play.

Technology has also impacted how people play soccer video games, with managers like Will Still in France using the well-known Football Manager game to sharpen their management skills. Lens was so impressed by the young Belgian manager that they paid over $20,000 per game, as he has yet to obtain his license to manage in the league properly.

The idea that a manager would gain the bulk of their experience via a video game and management simulations would have been unheard of a decade ago. However, as this technology transforms every element of sport, expect more unusual routes into the professional sporting industry as clubs and franchises try to identify the next significant technological change and appoint staff who know how to work with it most effectively.

Final Thoughts

In years past, this technology was only afforded to big TV and media companies. Now, with these barriers coming down and fans having access to this technology from their homes to explore how it works and utilize it to analyze their own teams, it’s the dawn of a new era.

While we shouldn’t lose sight of sports' magic through this new prism of innovative technology, if used correctly, it will ultimately benefit many of these top sporting leagues, whether the NBA, NFL, MLB, or the EPL.