Is Instant Replay Right for the NFL?
March 30, 1998
YESReplay's fate after six years in exile has probably been decided as you read this. The fact is, as long as giant replay screens dot every stadium, networks cover games with replays from at least three angles, the size-and-speed gap between players and officials continues to widen, and teams (like the 1997 Jets) miss the playoffs because of blown calls, the NFL must make use of instant replay.—Peter King
YES
Replay's fate after six years in exile has probably been decided as you read this. The fact is, as long as giant replay screens dot every stadium, networks cover games with replays from at least three angles, the size-and-speed gap between players and officials continues to widen, and teams (like the 1997 Jets) miss the playoffs because of blown calls, the NFL must make use of instant replay.
—Peter King
Or
NO
Achieving perfection has never been the goal of sports; striving for perfection is what counts, for athletes and officials. Blown calls, like fumbles, are part of the delicious unpredictability of sports, fodder for barroom debate. Replays undermine the authority of the officials, and more important, the spectator doesn't pay money and the viewer doesn't tune in to watch zebras hold a tea party.
—J.M.