Hypermediation has not only changed the way we watch football, with fantasy football leagues, instant stats, yellow first-down lines, and the general proliferation of infomration, but it has also changed the way the game is played. The red flag challenge rule is one obvious example, where the coach can challenge a play by throwing a red flag, which he usually does after having watched the replay on the jumbotron.
Less obvious is what happened last week. During the Lions/Giants game (Lions won!), Tiki Barber caught a screen pass and took it for a touchdown. Usually at the end of a long run you see the runner looking back to make sure nobody is close to him, but Barber was looking UP. The announcer later explained that he was looking at the Jumbotron to see if anyone was following him. Instant mediation. In effect, he was watching himself score a touchdown on TV in real time.
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