{"id":41053,"date":"2016-04-30T15:36:35","date_gmt":"2016-04-30T20:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=41053"},"modified":"2016-04-30T15:38:17","modified_gmt":"2016-04-30T20:38:17","slug":"reality-check-fans-get-closer-than-ever-to-athletes-with-virtual-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/reality-check-fans-get-closer-than-ever-to-athletes-with-virtual-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"Reality check: Fans get closer than ever to athletes with virtual technology"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Erin Barney<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"dropcap\">Sean Smith watched Paxton Lynch\u2019s perfect spiral fly over his head and hit a receiver in stride. There was grass under his feet and Lynch\u2019s trainers to his left and right. When he looked up, he swore he could feel the Memphis sun.<\/p>\n<p>But then the STRIVR goggles came off, and it was back to reality. A much colder, rainier Chicago reality.<\/p>\n<p>Smith, 44, was one of thousands of fans in the NFL&#8217;s Draft Town Saturday to enter a virtual world. A Palo Alto, California-based virtual reality company, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.strivrlabs.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">STRIVR,<\/a> lets fans get an up-close and personal encounter with the players. The goggles offered a 360-degree view of Jaylon Smith\u2019s workout or a look at the defensive line from Shaq Lawson\u2019s vantage point.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s unreal, just completely unreal,\u201d Smith said. \u201cYou\u2019re in the space, right there where they are, and you\u2019re able to look around. Not something most of us will ever see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Logan Mulvey, STRIVR&#8217;s managing partner, said that\u2019s the goal. The company creates highlight reels from inside the New England Patriots\u2019 locker room and on the sidelines of Team USA\u2019s soccer vs. Guatemala \u2014 places fans can\u2019t normally go.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 200px;float: right;padding-left: 10px\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-40573\" src=\"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/04\/nfl-draft2016-medill-coverage-logo-190-black.jpg\" alt=\"NFL Draft 2016 Medill Reports\" width=\"190\" height=\"244\" \/><br \/>\n<ul class=\"post-list\"><li class=\"listed-post\"><a class=\"pcs-post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/from-nazareth-to-nfl-cj-west-looks-to-make-impact-with-san-francisco-49ers\/\" title=\"From Nazareth to NFL: CJ West looks to make impact with San Francisco 49ers\">From Nazareth to NFL: CJ West looks to make impact with San Francisco 49ers<\/a><\/li><li class=\"listed-post\"><a class=\"pcs-post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/undrafted-rookies-fight-to-make-chicago-bears-roster\/\" title=\"Undrafted rookies fight to make Bears roster\">Undrafted rookies fight to make Bears roster<\/a><\/li><li class=\"listed-post\"><a class=\"pcs-post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chicago-bucky-irving-tragedies-nfl\/\" title=\"Chicago native Bucky Irving overcomes tragedies on path to NFL\">Chicago native Bucky Irving overcomes tragedies on path to NFL<\/a><\/li><li class=\"listed-post\"><a class=\"pcs-post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/the-nfls-first-all-remote-draft-made-for-a-lot-of-entertainment\/\" title=\"The NFL\u2019s first all-remote draft made for a lot of entertainment\">The NFL\u2019s first all-remote draft made for a lot of entertainment<\/a><\/li><li class=\"listed-post\"><a class=\"pcs-post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/overcoming-obstacles-northwestern-safety-jared-mcgee-looks-to-take-the-league-by-storm\/\" title=\"Overcoming obstacles, Northwestern safety Jared McGee looks to take the league by storm\">Overcoming obstacles, Northwestern safety Jared McGee looks to take the league by storm<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"listed-post\" style=\"margin-top: -20px;vertical-align: baseline\"><a href=\"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/category\/nfl-draft\/\">All NFL Draft stories<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>STRIVR\u2019s videographers are former athletes, so they know what to look for when filming. Kevin Beecroft, 31, the company&#8217;s director of operations, said playing lacrosse his whole life has given him a major advantage in terms of perspective.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe understand how to make our footprint as small as possible yet get the footage necessary for [fans] to get use out of what we are doing,\u201d Beecroft said. \u201cThat\u2019s something that\u2019s really unique to us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The athletes don\u2019t mind the close-up shots since the footage benefits them, too. STRIVR is also in the training business \u2014giving players a platform for mental repetition in their sport while protecting them physically.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re always trying to think down the road,\u201d Beecroft said. \u201cHow can we minimize the risk of athletes getting injured on the field and still give them the experience as if they were?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Football teams (six NFL and 13 Division I colleges) are STRIVR\u2019s biggest clients, but hockey and baseball teams are starting to see the advantages too. The New York Rangers recently added a goalie simulation to the main concourse at Madison Square Garden. Fans get to stand in the net and watch slap shots fly by.<\/p>\n<p>Active participation in the virtual world is the next big step for STRIVR.<\/p>\n<p>Mulvey said as soon as eight months from now, consumers will be able to purchase goggles and other necessary sensors to catch the pass from Lynch rather than just watch him throw it.<\/p>\n<p>When that day comes, Smith wants a shot at one-on-one with Chicago Bulls legend, Michael Jordan. But would the virtual platform give him an advantage or maybe even a chance at winning?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNope, absolutely not. All I\u2019d hear would be him trash talking,\u201d he said. \u200b<\/p>\n<div class=\"featurecaption\">PHOTO AT TOP: Sean Smith of Chicago had an up close and personal experience with future NFL stars via STRIVR&#8217;s virtual reality tent at NFL Draft Town. (Erin Barney\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Erin Barney Sean Smith watched Paxton Lynch\u2019s perfect spiral fly over his head and hit a receiver in stride. There was grass under his feet and Lynch\u2019s trainers to his left and right. When he looked up, he swore he could feel the Memphis sun. But then the STRIVR goggles came off, and it [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":259,"featured_media":41061,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2677,492,31,2582],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2016-nfl-draft","category-nfl-draft","category-sports","category-spring-2016"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Reality check: Fans get closer than ever to athletes with virtual technology - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/reality-check-fans-get-closer-than-ever-to-athletes-with-virtual-technology\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reality check: Fans get closer than ever to athletes with virtual technology - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Erin Barney Sean Smith watched Paxton Lynch\u2019s perfect spiral fly over his head and hit a receiver in stride. 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