All game for watching from home (WFH)?

While the vendors at big games will not be very happy at the development, the National Basketball Association (NBA) is gearing up to provide at least a few real fans the chance to cheer for the teams when the season starts off again in Florida next week. Of course, the fans will not be there in person but if gigantic LED screens around the arena show their faces — and more importantly, relay their voices — players will probably be more enthused about this “crowd sourcing” option than the earlier experiments elsewhere of robotic cheerleaders and mannequins in the stands.

Sportspersons are performers after all, and hearing crescendos that are in concert with their actions on the ground creates a different high. Cameras will apparently even try to simulate the different views of the court according to where the fans’ faces appear on the screen. Selecting which fans — the numbers are limited to just 320 for the first game — is the only foreseeable problem for the teams.

If this ‘screen test’ proves to be a success, other activities that need responsive audiences could certainly follow suit. Rock and other music concerts, the gamut of sporting events, fashion shows, and with a slew of elections coming up around the world, even campaign rallies would all welcome having faces around again, even if they are watching from home (WFH).