Twitter have agreed a deal with Sky Sports for the 2016/17 season to show immediate footage from Premier League games as the goals go in – Saturday afternoon 3pm kick offs included. And, we're not sure if we like it...
Of course, they'll be a time when you're stuck at a distant relative's wedding who selfishly decided to get married during the football season, and you can entertain yourself watching the goals roll in rather than speaking to the in-laws. That's where the positives end for us. The old-school in us can't help but feel sad that the new generation of young football fans will never appreciate that excitement of tuning in to watch Match of the Day without knowing any of the scores. Having to wait for Ceefax to load to keep updated. Having to ask an actual human being stranger what the scores are.
The world of technology has dramatically changed the way we watch the game in the past ten years and while it matches the ultra-fast, throw-away news stream that social media has embedded into our brains, it has sucked some of the purity out of the viewing experience for the humble football fan.
Twitter and it's instant information has made us ultra-impatient. Try watching one of your team's games next season with your phone switched off, appreciate the football – The ultimate show of will power. Far more satisfying than staying glued to your phone all day, watching the goals on a tiny screen, with zero atmosphere. That ain't the football we fell in love with. That ain't fulfilling. That ain't Saturday afternoon.
Score updates, no problem. But watching every goal on a phone? Is that too much? That urge for the power of knowledge, to be the first to show your mate a goal that's just gone in on a screen no bigger than your palm, resist it. We want it all live, we want it all right now but you wouldn't watch a film on your phone, and football is our king of the entertainment business. We get it, we'll no doubt occasionally use it, but it'll feel a bit dirty, ya know? Like we're letting Des Lynam down. The times, they're a changin'.
