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With preseason already in full swing, and the Broncos already boasting a win over the Seahawks, we thought it was a good time to take a look at how tech is changing the way we watch football. Sure, the basics are all still there. We're still going to order some delivery food, drink some beer, and yell at the television screen — but the way we’re doing these things is changing. Check it out:
Getting Into the Stadium: The days of paper tickets to get into the stadium are numbered. Earlier this year the Colorado Rockies became one of the first Major League Baseball teams to embrace biometric scanning to get into Coors Field. You put your finger on a scanner, it knows you have a ticket and you’re free to enter. Someday soon you’ll even be able to attach your fingerprint to a credit card and buy beer and hotdogs at the game with a touch of a thumb. This hasn’t been adopted at Mile High yet, but it’s only a matter of time.
Game Day Grub: Remember how you used to have to actually pick up the phone to get a pizza delivered? Because it was a Sunday you’d inevitibly be placed on hold before finally getting through to a harried and rude employee. Those days are gone. With sites like Order Up and Grub Hub you can simply order your pizza online while checking on your fantasy lineup. What’s even better? You’re no longer limited to pizza or Chinese food. Want to change game day pizza into game day Ethiopian? You’ll still get to eat with your hands.
Watching the Game On the Run: Unfortunately, the NFL is way behind when it comes to cable-free options to watch a game. The NFL has Game Pass, which lets you watch replays of regular season games online for $99/season — which seems ludicrous. However, if you have DirectTV you can download the NFL SUNDAY TICKET app and watch live games on your phone, laptop or tablet. It’s not the Netflix of football, but it’s a workable solution until the NFL catches up with the times.
Keeping Up With the Players: These days we have unprecidented access to players. With social media we can follow our favorite players’ lives on and off the field. Want to know how Wes Welker’s eye exam went? Here you go. Curious what John Elway thinks about Demaryius Thomas? Now you know. It’s also pretty cool that you can tweet at the players — just be nice, they’re people too.
