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Blind and Visually Impaired Community

Full History - 2022 - 02 - 14 - ID#ss3dbe
10
Super Bowl and sports in general. (self.Blind)
submitted by RagingRoman01
Since the Super Bowl was today, I wanted to know if and how others in this community engage with professional sports.

As my vision has gotten worse, I don’t find as much enjoyment in watching football. I rely heavily on hearing the commentary but also the noise of the game. When I watch the Super Bowl I can’t hear anything because my family is really loud. Ironically, I also rely on their reactions to know if someone made a good play or catch. I have never been able to see the football, but I can see the players enough to know If they’re running with the ball or not.

My favorite sport is basketball and I find it much easier to watch. I have a big tv in my room that I can sit close to and watch. I still struggle to see the ball, but I can actually see it unlike football. I also use the sound of the game to fill in the parts I can’t see. I can hear the sound of the basket when someone scores, the players talking to each other, and the crowd. All of this makes it easier for me to comprehend what’s going on. Lately I’ve been struggling to even watch basketball because my vision got worse, but I still enjoy it even though I don’t really know what’s happening half of the time.

What is your experience like? Do you think there are better ways for the NBA and NFL to make their broadcast accessible for the blind and visually impaired?
LilacRose32 6 points 1y ago
What about commentary on the radio?

I’m not a sports fan but do find coverage that is meant to be audio only is easier for me to follow
RagingRoman01 [OP] 2 points 1y ago
That is a really good option but I think baseball is the only sport with this. I will look more into it though.

My grandpa has better vision than me and he prefers listening to the radio version over watching the game. So that goes to show how descriptive the commentary is.
GreenTigerzord 2 points 1y ago
Every sport has radio commentary. Sirius/XM has a ton, but generally those feeds are at least 20 seconds behind the tv ones. Hope this helps!
Terry_Pie 5 points 1y ago
Though I used to watch cricket and AFL when I was younger, I haven't watched either in years, except when I'm somewhere it's on the telly. The radio coverage of both is really good though (my grandpa, who was total, never missed a broadcast).

I do however go to the basketball. My friends and I have season tickets and make it to every game we can (though we've missed a big chunk of this season because of COVID). I really can't tell anything more than what end of the court the ball is at, but the announcer means I can keep track of who has scored and fouls that've been called (in the general sense). There's also the crowd to provide guidance by means of cheers and jeers.

It's the experience as a whole I enjoy though more so than the game itself. We always have a meal before or after the game so it's just a fantastic social experience.
RagingRoman01 [OP] 3 points 1y ago
My grandpa is the same way. He loves listening to the radio broadcast for baseball games.

I’m the same way when it comes to basketball. I really like being at the game in person too. I haven’t been in two years but I used to have a great time. My team (the suns) wasn’t even good back then, but now they’re unstoppable so I really want to go see them play. I have to buy closer seats which is expensive but it’s worth saving up for.
RandinoB 3 points 1y ago
I was born with my visual impairment so I don’t have anything else to compare it to. I have a few thoughts on the topic.

First, sports coverage has generally gotten less accessible for the visually impaired over the years. Announcers nowadays are less likely to have spent a lot of time in radio, so they don’t talk as much. This is especially true for American football telecasts I think. The announcers often take for granted that the audience sees things. Tennis is by far the worst with this. As TV sets have gotten bigger, the camera work has changed and is more zoomed out. Also static elements like scores and down and distance are small but it’s assumed the audience can see them. Thus the announcers don’t talk about it. Then fantastic ideas like the mid 90s glowing hockey puck were laughed at.

So the coverage stinks, but there is a couple things you can try. A big TV with a zoom setting might help. There’s also the radio, which I think is better for almost every sport.

Something else too is being able to decipher the action without actually seeing the ball. Especially with football you can guarantee the camera will find the ball, but if you watch the people moving around you can really pick up a lot. I absolutely cannot see a baseball in real life at a game but I love going to baseball games live.

Basketball is definitely easiest to watch live or tv. And the major sports could definitely do better for accessibility.
RagingRoman01 [OP] 2 points 1y ago
I agree. I used to think football commentary was great but over the years it’s gotten worse in terms of describing the game. I find basketball to be the worst in terms on descriptive commentary. There’s a lot of times where they just discuss other topics or a player narrative and don’t speak about the actual plays going on. Basketball is easier to watch though. The court isn’t as big as a football field so there’s less of a zoom out.

I’ve been to football, basketball, and baseball games and I have to say basketball is the best experience I had. Part of it being due to the fact that I was closer. When I went to the football games, I was always at the top of the nose bleeds. Same with baseball. The crowd made it enjoyable and it was still fun to be at the games engaging with everyone. I also went to a Mexican soccer game and that was probably the most fun crowd to be a part of.

I’ve always struggled watching baseball and tennis because of how small the ball is already and with the camera so zoomed out it makes it even harder.
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RagingRoman01 [OP] 3 points 1y ago
Lol my family wasn’t always into sports like that. My uncle and cousin are the ones who brought that energy into my house. Now the whole family goes crazy for the big football games.

I got them into basketball recently and now they’re heavily invested in the suns.

Going crazy is part of the fun. Sometimes it can get out of hand but when it’s the right amount of crazy you’ll have a great time.
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RagingRoman01 [OP] 3 points 1y ago
Yea I mean it’s not for everyone. I was kind of the same way for a while. I never liked basketball until about 7 years ago and I only got into it because of friends who would always talk about it. Also playing 2k got me really into basketball.

You just gotta find something that you can enjoy and connect to. Have you tried watching other sports like professional boxing or he UFC?
vip-sizzles 3 points 1y ago
Haven't watched TV in many years, so I've mostly tuned out sports. I did radio for a while but I think I've simply lost interest & focused on other things. Definitely not quite the experience without the visual.
RagingRoman01 [OP] 2 points 1y ago
I agree. I know I won’t enjoy it as much when my vision gets worse in the future so I’m enjoying it as much as I can now.
TechnicalPragmatist 2 points 1y ago
Totally blind here. And I find that I never really enjoyed sports. Just not the type plus didn’t and never struck me as interesting.
RagingRoman01 [OP] 1 points 1y ago
Yea I get you. I never really liked sports until I got to high school. It’s not for everyone and I feel like it’s only fun if you’re invested in it. If you’re just watching with no context it’s pretty boring, but if you’re loyal to a team/player and follow the stuff that happens outside of the game, it’s way more interesting. There’s a lot of people who follow the drama of the NBA but don’t really watch the games.
TechnicalPragmatist 2 points 1y ago
Yeah, makes sense not really following a team or player so that makes sense.
blind_cowboy 2 points 1y ago
Like others have suggested, I suggest listening to the radio broadcast. If you want to, when listening with others who are watching, sync your radio up with the TV and mute the TV.
RagingRoman01 [OP] 1 points 1y ago
I checked out the radio broadcast for the suns last night and I liked it. I couldn’t get it to sync well so I just turned off the tv and worked on homework with the radio broadcast playing in the background.
EffectiveYak0 2 points 1y ago
I mostly follow college mens basketball and football, and the radio broadcasts are fantastic for my team. I also try to pull up advanced statistics while I'm listening for when it's break time.

I miss watching games, but listening can e be just as fun.
RagingRoman01 [OP] 1 points 1y ago
How do you find a radio broadcast for your team? I want to start listening to some and see how I like it but I have no idea where to start.

I would imagine the commentator would be the one who makes or breaks your experience. Some might be monotone and lack deacriptive skills. While another can be energetic and give you enough information to comprehend what’s going on.

I definitely see myself listening to sports in the future because I don’t want to give up my loyalty to my favorite teams because of my vision loss.
EffectiveYak0 2 points 1y ago
So my favorite team is the University of Illinois Fighting Illini. Most teams have a radio broadcast that gets sent across a bunch of stations. You can also listen online most of the time if you know the home station. In this case it's light rock 97.5 whms or news talk radio 1400 wdws champaign urbana.

And yeah the announcer does make a difference. Luckily the voice of the fighting Illini, Brian Barnhart, does a great job. Here is an interview he did explaining how he got into broadcasting.

$1
RagingRoman01 [OP] 2 points 1y ago
Wow he seems like a great person. His voice sounds like the perfect sports broadcasting voice. He’s also got a lot of experience doing what he does so I’m sure he makes it much easier to get engaged with the game.

I’m going to look for the local channels in my area and hopefully they provide a great listening experience.
EffectiveYak0 2 points 1y ago
It's really exciting listening to him calling games.

Well if you don't find your teams you can always become a fighting Illini fan :)
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