NextVR courtside at an NBA preseason game between the Heat and the Cavaliers
Imagine watching the Yankees play the Red Sox from the Green Monster, then seeing the Kentucky Derby from a front row box at Churchill Downs, followed by sitting courtside at Game 7 between the Warriors and Spurs, and ending your day in Las Vegas at the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight of the century … all from the comfort of your couch.
The reality of Virtual Reality is here. Fans will soon be able to experience live sporting events from the best seat in the house, regardless of where they are physically. Athletes will be able to enhance their training because they can reenact real situations in practice.
Founders and experts of this new technology gathered in San Francisco on Wednesday evening at the third event of an on-going series, ChatSports: Minds Behind the Game. Derek Belch, Founder & CEO, STRIVR Labs, Brendan Reilly, Founder & CEO, EON Sports, Brad Allen, Executive Chairman, NextVR, and Eric Romo, Founder & CEO, AltspaceVR provided insight into how VR will transform the fan experience as well as athlete training and coaching.
The event was moderated by James Yoder, Chat Sports Founder & CEO and in addition to discussing the current state and the future of VR, guests were able to demo the cutting-edge technology.
As is true with any new technology, the biggest question mark is will this be the next big thing or will it be the next flop like the 3D TV or Google Glass? The founders and experts agree that because of the compelling content, VR will be the next new wave of media. Sports, specifically live sporting events, is the compelling content that will drive the success of VR. “The leagues, the broadcasters, the teams – we have yet to meet anybody who’s not excited about VR
because the fan experience is so incredible and different from anything we’ve seen before. You go from being directed – someone is saying go to Camera 3 or Camera 4 – to being more of a full participant in the action. You’re able to watch the game, look around,” noted Allen.
I was able to demo Allen’s NextVR experience where I viewed a NASCAR race from pit row and a Premier League match from pitch level – and I actually felt like I was there. It was truly one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced. VR not only captures the action, but it also captures the atmosphere. Nothing will ever replace being at a game, but VR will certainly be as close to it as we can get. Romo and AltspaceVR are working to bring the sense of community to sports viewing in creating virtual markets where fans from across the country or the world can watch an event together.
When I tried AltspaceVR, I interacted with others using the same technology and even gave a virtual high five. VR technology goes beyond bringing people together in places far from their physical location. Athletes will be able to take their games to the next level by training with VR. The learning curve becomes much easier when athletes can get repetitions in a true game experience – practicing in game-time speed, seeing the depth of field, and even hearing the crowd noise; all while avoiding the physical toll of many practice reps. Belch and STRIVR Labs have worked with the Stanford football team using VR and said, “What’s working is when people talk on Sunday and say they were ready for a certain play or scenario because of their VR training.”
EON Sports aims to target the athletes as well as the coaches. With the ability to create a virtual playbook, coaches are able to “find quicker, better, and easier ways to get what they’re trying to coach and teach into their kid’s heads. That’s what virtual reality training is,” Reilly explained. Based on my success (or lack thereof) with the EON Sports demo, I won’t be a starting QB anytime soon, but I can see how virtual reality training will have an impact on an athlete. Training the brain to learn the timing and exactly where you need to look to connect with your receiver on a certain route – all while having crowd noise in your ears – will make the real action on the field much less daunting.
There is one major drawback to VR … the heavy, uncomfortable headsets. Belch cited Stanford research that has found that people get tired of wearing the headset after about eight minutes, so the hardware is bound to become better as the technology becomes more mainstream. As Allen commented, “I always make the comparison that the headset we’re going to see today are like the old brick cell phones. We’re going to look back a couple of years from now and go ‘Remember when you had those things?’, but they’re going to end up being very slick glasses connected with bluetooth from your phone.”
I’m officially jumping on this VR bandwagon and I look forward to the day when the content is delivered on those slick glasses so I can sit midfield at a World Cup match or watch my hometown football team with my family on the east coast while I’m on the west coast. It’s crazy to think that day will be here before we know it, but that’s our new reality.
