SHAPIRO: Jobs changed sports world as much as tech

Columbia sports: There’s an app for that! In case you weren’t aware, the Columbia athletics department rolled out a surprisingly trendy iPhone app earlier this year. This marks the first step of what I expect to be an increasing integration of Columbia sports and technology, and if there’s one man to thank for this, it may be the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

By now we all know his story: a college dropout who founded Apple in his parents’ garage, who was ousted from the company he started, only to return 11 years later and not only save it from the brink of collapse, but use his visionary foresight to grow it into one of the world’s most efficient and profitable corporations. He changed everything—the way we communicate, listen to music, and work. Jobs was the mastermind architect behind each revolutionary Apple product—from Macs to iPods to iPhones and everything in between. Having now had a couple weeks to mull the impact his inventions have had on my life, I’ve come to realize that his contributions extend well beyond the spheres of technology and business and into less considered areas, including sports.

As fans, our most important priorities are watching games, checking scores, and reading news about our favorite teams. Our shiny Apple devices have become the easiest way to stay up-to-date with live games, recaps, and stats at home, walking down Broadway, or, admit it, in the classroom. I don’t know what I would do without my iPhone, on which I have a folder exclusively filled with sports apps. I can watch live ESPN, receive in-game updates and, of course, stay current with Columbia teams using the Lions app.

Believe it or not, Apple’s influence on the sports world predates the products we know and love today. Jobs pioneered an industry of Super Bowl commercials in 1984, when he ignored opposition from the Apple Board of Directors to run a groundbreaking one-minute ad for the Macintosh computer. Apple poured nearly one million dollars into the final product, which was directed by Ridley Scott and mimicked George Orwell’s novel “1984.” The landmark commercial not only introduced a revolutionary product, but it did so boldly and to a massive audience. The extravagant Super Bowl ads that we all cherish today are a direct result of Jobs’ efforts 27 years ago.

Fans and ad agencies haven’t been the only ones affected by our favorite iToys. In 2006, College Sports TV forever changed the way players and coaches reviewed play footage by allowing them to review game film on iPods. This laid the groundwork to what is becoming an increasing utilization of Apple products on the playing field. By 2007, dozens of Major League Baseball players, including nearly all of the Colorado Rockies, were using iPods to store video footage and stats. Rockies starting pitcher Jason Jennings even credited his iPod with turning around his slumping season in 2007. Prior to scouting opposing hitters on his iPod, his earned run average stood at a bloated 6.60. Afterwards, it was cut to 3.31.

In anticipation of the 2011 football season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers purchased iPads for each of its 90 players to use as playbooks at an estimated cost of $50,000. Bucs head coach Raheem Morris saw the lightweight alternative as a significant improvement to standard game tape. “You’d use to have to use your general remote to fast-forward or rewind,” Morris explained to the St. Petersburg Times. “With this iPad, I can just flick through, and if that play doesn’t apply to me, I just touch it and get out of there … and there’s third down.” As iPads are fast, portable, and easy to use, players are more likely to spend increased time reviewing plays and game footage. The Baltimore Ravens purchased 120 iPads in the offseason to use in lieu of paper playbooks, while other teams such as the Dallas Cowboys have seriously considered making the switch. Teams estimate that abandoning paper playbooks would save them printing 5,000 pages of paper per game. It’s only a matter of time before digital playbooks become an industry standard.

Some college student-athletes have benefited from Apple technology in other ways. In 2009, the University of South Florida announced that they would be distributing MacBook Pros to each of its 460 athletes and adding class lectures to iTunes U. This allows athletes with demanding schedules the flexibility to keep up with their academics anywhere at any time. In case any Columbia athletics administrators are reading this, I know quite a few athletes here whose lives would be made easier by such a system.

When Jobs founded Apple with Steve Wozniak in 1976, he most likely never imagined that his inventions would become integral to the wide world of sports. What he did envision, however, is a world in which technology was accessible to everyone and anyone. Steve Jobs leaves behind a legacy of expert entrepreneurship, showmanship, and innovation. But on the world of sports, he leaves an indelible mark, which we are reminded of on a daily basis by those iconic white earbuds and the apple with a bite out of it. While Jobs is no longer with us, his impact on the sports world will only continue to grow in the years to come.

Michael Shapiro is a List College senior majoring in history and modern Jewish studies.
sports@columbiaspectator.com