Four Super Sports Predictions

The Forrest Four-Cast: January 28, 2017

Falcons or Patriots? America’s biggest sporting spectacle stands just over a week away and the pre-game excitement in Houston is beginning to build. Said another way, the impending Super Bowl gives us good context to cover four of the more intriguing trends in today’s sports ecosystem.

1. eSports Goes Large and Goes Mainstream. Video games are everything for Millennials and (even more so) for the younger denizens of Generation Z. As this demographic grows older and even more affluent, one time sporting mainstays like football, basketball, baseball and hockey will become even less relevant. Studies forecast that eSports will grow to be a $1 billion industry by 2019 — and even larger numbers are likely in the years to follow.
2. Massive Disruption Will Destroy the NCAA. More and more young athletes are questioning a system where so many others make millions off of their free labor. This and a number of other factors will contribute to the dismantling and eventual destruction of the once-sacred institution of college athletics. Cleaved from this burden of sports, universities can return to what should have always been their main function in society — educating young adults.
3. Performance Enhancement Loses Its Stigma. The era of prohibiting steroids and other ability-increasing substances from the playing field will soon come to a close. Why? Because in the coming age of cyborgs and life-like robots, our traditional understanding of the human condition will change considerably — and these changes will lead us to be much more comfortable with competition that embraces all of our advanced technologies.
4. Stadiums Create Even More Fan Experiences. Why attend a sporting event when watching this competition from on your TV, computer, tablet or other connected device is so much easier? In order to remain relevant, arenas will constantly upgrade to implement cutting-edge technology that create increasingly more captivating experiences. The coming years will see the boundaries between stadiums and amusement parks continue to blur.

Learn more about current and next generation athletic-related developments by attending the “Sports” Track (March 11–13) at SXSW 2017. Buy your badge before prices increase on Friday, February 10 to immerse yourself in all the amazing content that is March Magic in Austin.

Hugh Forrest tries to write four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts generally cover technology-related trends. When not attempting to wordsmith or meditating, he serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW in Austin.