When former Microsoft Chief Executive Officer, Steve Ballmer, bought the Los Angeles Clippers earlier this year, technology and sports became intertwined in a whole new way. From the beginning Ballmer has promised to create a fan experience in Los Angeles unlike any other. Whether fans are at home or in the arena, Ballmer says, “you are going to have the best experience and that is not just the best in L.A. Engaged fans actually help the team, team gets better, fan experience gets better, fans get more enthusiastic. It’s like voom, a perpetual motion machine.”
Teaming up with Los Angeles-based Second Spectrum, the Clippers will be the first professional team to introduce a new technology called Eagle. Fans will be able to choose specific replays to be shown on the video board during timeouts. These selected plays will be shown alongside the name of the fan who chose it. From a Chris Paul behind-the-back pass to a Blake Griffin windmill dunk, this new technology gets fans involved and engaged like never before.
In addition to the highlight itself, a piece of this new software called DataFX will analyze and produce visual stats for big plays.
“It’s not just going to be highlights,” says Rajiv Maheswaran, Co-Founder of Second Spectrum.
“It’s highlights with a lot of effects but also telling the story with numbers you can’t get anywhere else. Nobody else on the planet is going to have them.”
This feature will help fans see what sets elite players apart from the rest. Those following the Clippers from their mobile devices will have real-time numbers pushed directly to their phones.
InSight, another feature of Eagle, creates beautiful visuals showing players stats from pick-and-roll plays, pull-up shots, step-back shots, and percentages from specific locations on the floor.
With the Clippers at the forefront of new sports technology, other teams are sure to take notice. Second Spectrum is currently in talks with multiple television networks who want to bring these amazing new features to fans watching from home.
“We want to make the next generation of tech for all sports,” says Maheswaran. “We want to build the technology that changes the way everyone consumes sports and turn people into content creators.”