An App That Lets Fans Cheer From Home Is Without A Doubt The Worst Idea To Come Out Of This Whole Mess
CNN - With fans barred from stadiums due to coronavirus restrictions, sporting bodies around the world are grappling with how to create atmosphere at matches -- and the makers of a new app think they have the answer.
The "Remote Cheerer powered by Sound UD" system is made by Yamaha and broadcasts cheers, boos and chants from users' homes to the stadium via the internet, according to a press release.
Fans tap buttons on an app to make their feelings known through speakers placed around the stadium, replacing the usual crowd noise.
What sucks the most is that somebody is going to end up making a ton of money off of this shit. That money may not last for long and it might stop coming in after a week or so once everyone realizes how much this idea sucks. But they're going to make money regardless and there's nothing worse than when people get rich for having shitty ideas.
There have been plenty of shitty ideas flying around when it comes to returning to sports. But this is easily the worst out of all of them. For starters, it would 100% end up getting hacked. Like that's not even a question. You set speakers up all throughout a stadium and you're just asking for someone to hack the app and start playing random nonsense during the game.
Or even if it doesn't get hacked, what happens when your phone falls down under the cushion of your couch and you can't find it? Meanwhile, your ass is hammering down the "boo" button while your favorite team has the ball. You're booing your own team all because of some stupid fucking app gave you a voice in the stadium that you shouldn't have right now in the first place. Your favorite team loses and now it's all your fault. It would have been better if they just couldn't hear your support rather than having you actively root against them, accidentally or not.
People are really overthinking all of this. If you need to pipe in some noise like the Bundesliga is doing, then pipe in a little pre-recorded noise. It's honestly not that bad and it starts to sound like a normal game after you give your brain a few minutes to adjust to the fact. Or if you don't want to pipe in any noise at all and just play in a quiet stadium? Your brain will adjust to watching/listening to that as well. It's really not that big of a deal. A little different, sure, but the game is still the game. But giving a bunch of dorks the capability to sit on their couch and smash some buttons on their phone to affect the atmosphere and having that power go unchecked? Idiotically reckless. No fucking thanks.