[frankbmd]

Football has changed in many ways in the last 60 years. We now have high def, instant replay, coaching challenges, booth reviews with the ability to view each play in super slo mo from 17 different angles. Rules have changed to define acceptable plays, what is a completed pass, what is a fumble, breaking the plane, etc. Rules have been changed in the name of safety, concussion protocols, unabated to the quarterback, targeting etc. in so many ways high tech instruments have affected the way the game is played, the way it is officiated and the way it is watched and analyzed.

Does it not seem strange to anyone else that the one element of the game from the fifties that remains essentially unchanged are the chains. How crude that a ten yard length of chain affixed to two poles, which invariably gets trotted out onto the field to measure for a first down, remains part of the game.

Go to your garage and look at the garage doors. Is there not a safety device near the ground with a beam of light that needs to be reflected back for the door to operate. Don't tell me in this day and age that the chains are necessary. A device on each sideline could beam a visible light across the field to determine first downs, or better yet put a chip or three in the ball that can be sensed to determine forward progress.

I don't even recall a discussion of replacing the chains with technology, so have at it. I say down with the chains and bring football into the 21st century. Here, here!!!