The Beauty of Imperfection

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The Beauty of Imperfection Sports have become a part of our human culture; every corner of the earth has known a sport of some type. Professional sports have become almost religious to the fans that follow, and the fans have always been quick to point fingers at close calls and demanded a fix for this problem. Instant replay was introduced as a cure for this problem, and since then has brought arguably more controversy to sports. With slow motion replay being brought up after almost every play instantly the fans have again started to become critical of the refs calls, and the rules themselves. Due to high standards, and unfair critiques, instant replay has distracted from the simplistic beauty of professional and collegiate sports today. Instant replay came from the development of faster film, and was almost immediately introduced into sports right from its birth. It was invented in the 1950’s by George Retzlaff who worked at Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, it came about by the invention of the “Hot Processor” that could develop film in under 30 seconds. By the mid 60’s instant replay was readily available to television viewers and officials nationwide (Tallon, Beverley). The creation of instant replay was subtle, it snuck up on the audience and even the stations. It became a part of televised sports because of its popularity and early fan appreciation. Instant replay was the most fascinating thing to happen to television during it’s time, it grabbed the fans by the hundreds of thousands. The first football game to use instant replay was the Army Navy game, CBS showed only one instant replay, it was a touchdown. “The effect was profound. Within a year, instant replay was becoming a staple of football broadcasts” (Rhoden 1). The use of instant replay has become a way for NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB to make sure that the referees are in their control and critique. The

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