A windy, chilling day mixed with a slight drizzle is likely to dampen the attending fans at live sports. Also, the factors affect on-field activity. The Weather Channel is utilising a new variety of hyperrealism and mixed reality in its storytelling to display how.
The Weather Channel, during the 2018 NCAA football season, worked together with the SEC, which involves collegiate giants like, the 2018 SEC champion Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Missouri and Tennessee, in order to tell stories regarding the elements that affected quarterback performance on the day of the game.
The stories broadcasted on the SEC Network TV stations and The Weather Channel, as well as their other digital platforms, used immersive graphics and mixed reality to exhibit how a particular type of precipitation level, temperature or wind is capable of having an impact on the way a quarterback passes the ball. The stories were launched the Friday before the Iron Brawl – a competition between Auburn and Alabama, during the regular season’s last week.
The Weather Channel utilised the skills and experience of Jordan Rogers, an SEC Network commentator who was a QB for Vanderbilt in the league, before professionally playing in the NFL with Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Miami Dolphins. A team of meteorologists gathered the data which Jordan would use and add a background to, through his personal experience as a QB whilst immersive, captivating graphics swayed across the screen.
Mike Chesterfield, one of the meteorologists and director of The Weather Channel’s weather presentation said that they converted Jordan’s skills into the experience that portrayed the effects of the weather. He also said that the experience was for the viewers to understand the weather factors and how a QB could handle them to ensure the best possible outcome. It would give the viewers a clear idea of the thought process of a QB and what they have to deal with; whether or not they will be able to tackle the weather in particular situations.
According to The Weather Channel, a variation in just 5 miles/hour can affect the ball’s air-time, increasing the need for higher spin rates when a quarterback has a target far away from them. When the wind is high, longer passes require tighter spirals. According to the data, a quarterback faces the worst days when it is windy and cold. The temperature affects their limits and their hands will not grip or throw the ball like they usually do.
Chesterfield said that the strength of the arm is not the only thing that is affected, but the ability to spin the ball is too. He added that even harsh rain would not have as much impact on the QB as the wind.
The Weather Channel would use mixed reality to show the performance of the ball based on the speed and spin rate it was thrown with. The display showcases how variations in the factors affect the QB’s grip and spinning capability.
