I won’t lay claim to this idea. Likely a thousand before me, have advocated for it.
After watching the exciting Als vs. Stamps game on the weekend and after hearing some commentary from Dave Dickenson on the rules and the Command Centre calls, it seems to me that it is long past due that microchips be imbedded in footballs and that some kind of electric wire be strung along (and beneath) the goal line, or perhaps a laser that would pick up the microchip. In this way, there would be zero ambiguity as to whether or not the ball broke the plane and furthermore, if it broke the plane before the whistle was blown.
Some folks might feel this further erodes the officials’ status on the field but I do not believe it would. Countless times, I have seen that mass of humanity piled up near, on or past (who the hell can tell?) the goal line and I wonder aloud, how amidst all of that confusion the ref and the command centre can make a call, unless they have x-ray vision.
Comments?