ESPN defends obstructing NFL views with 'Booger mobile'
After seven weeks, the reviews are in for ESPN’s revamped “Monday Night Football” crew.
Jason Witten is a dud. Booger McFarland shows promise. And the “Booger mobile” is not welcome.
While fans watching on TV have responded well to McFarland, fans in the stands are tired of paying premium prices for obstructed-view seats.
McFarland gives takes, blocks views
Instead of sitting in the broadcast booth, McFarland sits atop a crane-like contraption that rolls up and down the sideline to give his commentary.
Why? Well. It’s a gimmick. That’s why.
In a competitive sports broadcast world, this is an attempt from ESPN at innovation in sports commentary. While it provides no discernible upside in McFarland proving commentary, it does provide the network a chance to show him sitting atop his pedestal multiple times throughout the game.
It’s a really nice seat for Booger
McFarland touted being “able to see and hear up close the footwork, motion, things that are being said” in a preseason feature in the L.A. Times. While that’s cool for Booger, it does little for the fans watching at home.
The yellow line, it is not.
The device also serves the purpose of blocking the view of fans in high-dollar seats near the field.
This leads to tweets with multiple angry red-face emojis, like this one from a fan in the stands for Monday’s New York Giants-Atlanta Falcons tilt.
😡😡😡😡😡😡😡 pic.twitter.com/9yFUYmhwYG
— LPG – NYG (@LicensePlateGuy) October 23, 2018
As seen here from last week’s game between the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers, the better the seats, the worse the obstruction.
That's nice of ESPN to give fans who paid for seats a TV to watch while Booger gets a better view (from @jsell2110) pic.twitter.com/jOnu1lu3AK
— Busted Coverage (@bustedcoverage) October 16, 2018
ESPN’s response to blocking the view of fans is to give them a TV to watch the action on delay. Because that’s why they paid a premium to attend the game.
ESPN doesn’t care
Sporting News reached out to ESPN about the obstruction concerns. Its response was to not give a damn.
ESPN to Sporting News:
“The unique field-level perspective that the cart provides is an enhancement to our ‘Monday Night Football’ coverage. It is constantly moving up and down the sideline throughout the game, rarely in one spot for an extended period of time. The cart is also equipped with a large monitor so fans can see the game telecast.”
That “one spot” is the line of scrimmage, blocking the most important view than fans sitting in the lower level pay a big price to see. They’re not there to “see the game telecast.”
The Booger mobile is an insult to fans. It’s embarrassing for “the worldwide leader in sports” to defend it. It’s theft for the NFL to allow it.
It needs to go.
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