I was at the Rose Bowl this year and something I noticed was how much of the game was spent staring at the jumbotron rather than watching the game live.<p>Sitting in the stands no longer feels like you're watching an incredible game. Instead it feels like you're watching the game live on ESPN(given the level of advertisements) but sitting in the stands.<p>I'm certainly not the first to point out how commercialized sports have become, but it's disconcerting seeing stadiums try to hook you into staring at an ad for four hours instead of enjoying a once-in-a-lifetime experience.<p>Another example was the flyover: A B2 flew over just before kickoff[0] and I, along with almost everyone else, had never seen one before. An announcement over the loudspeakers asked that everyone hold up a small sign so that the stadium looked like the American flag from above. This was great for viewers at home and horrible for anyone in the stands because all you could see was the back of the sign you and everyone else were holding up.<p>We seem to have gotten so far away from what sports are about(two teams competing to see who's best) that we've landed on milking as much money out of the fans as they possibly can.<p>Facial recognition, in this context, seems to be doing the same. Rather than giving fans a fantastic experience, the folks running these games are trying to monetize them instead.<p>[0] - <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/2020/01/check-out-this-aerial-photo-of-the-b-2-bomber-flyover-at-the-2020-rose-bowl.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/2020/01/check-out-this-aeri...</a>