Packers-Giants Viewers Do Not Appreciate Fox’s Superimposed Yardage Markers in the Snow

Let it snow, damnit

Packers vs. Giants in the snow
Getty

It’s snowing in East Rutherford, New Jersey — perfect weather for a Green Bay Packers at New York Giants NFL game. Unfortunately, Fox Sports’ fancy technology is getting in the way, some Twitter users are complaining.

In an understandable attempt to be helpful to TV viewers, Fox is superimposing all of the lines (including the hash marks) and yardage numbers on the MetLife Stadium turf. But that simulated overlay hasn’t jived particularly well with the very real players — especially the white parts of their uniforms.

While Sunday marked the first snowfall of the year in New Jersey and was among the first nationally televised games of the 2019 National Football League season to contend with the white stuff, Fox has actually been doing the same thing for a couple of years now. The faux lines and sidelines are a similar technology to the commonly appreciated yellow first-down line. (Which turns red for fourth down plays. The line of scrimmage is transmitted as a blue line.)

We asked a Fox Sports spokesman if today’s brightness or contrast level was set differently than in games past, which might explain why it felt particularly jarring to some. The spokesman responded that it was the “same as always.”

Still, guess how well some members of the Twitter community are taking today’s use? Right.

Read a sample of the social-media griping below.

https://twitter.com/Seanfrankey/status/1201211438129434625

https://twitter.com/mgrims99/status/1201209410699304961

Comments