There’s an article on Volleyball Country in which a contributor talks about three things he thinks would make volleyball better. This is from a spectator’s perspective Here they are.
- Emotions
- Live statistics
- Better video challenge
The other two are fairly straightforward. In terms of emotion, the author’s idea is to allow players to basically taunt the opposition. For example, a blocker would be able to scream in the face of a hitter they just roofed.
Maybe he doesn’t remember, but that sort of thing used to be allowed. At least it was in men’s volleyball. On the women’s side the rules of conduct were more strict in my remembering. I recall always thinking it was stupid that a girl would get a yellow card, or at least a warning, for something that boys did all the time. These days male and female players basically operate by what I remember were the expectations for girls when I was involved in high school volleyball in the late 80s.
Personally, I’m fine with things the way they are. I think there’s plenty of emotion in the sport. The author specifically mentioned football as an example of a sport with a lot of emotion. Problem is the NFL banned taunting years ago.
For me, there’s a real difference in watching men’s volleyball live vs. watching it on TV. I much prefer the former because you experience the emotion, the athleticism, the power and speed, etc. in a way which has yet to really translate through the broadcast medium. I think women’s volleyball, with it’s generally longer rallies and lesser reliance on physicality, is a better TV/streaming watching experience.
Of course, the quality of the broadcast is a central factor, which speaks to the live stats and video replay improvement desires.
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One Response
How soon we forget. 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Cuba Versus Brasil. On macth point a fight nearly broke out. It was ugly. Starting at 4:31.