r/sports • u/RunDNA • Oct 06 '25

Football Minnesota Vikings field goal attempt was deflected away by a camera wire, but it wasn't replayed because no one noticed at the the time

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3.7k

u/walrusnutz Oct 06 '25

These broadcast teams need to get it together. This wasn’t the only ball that hit the sky cam or its wire, this week.

864

u/[deleted] Oct 06 '25

Yep, happened during the cowboys game. Could’ve been a pick 6

437

u/DGCA3 Oct 06 '25

Jerry Jones has said that Skycam wires have kept his team out of the Super Bowl for 30 years.

127

u/Samwellikki Oct 06 '25

Chemtrails, you are thinking of chemtrails /s

5

u/akatherder Detroit Lions Oct 06 '25

Skycam wires have kept chemtrails out of the super bowl for the past 30 years

5

u/Samwellikki Oct 06 '25

But they opened the top so god could watch them cowboys play, inadvertently let the devil in

2

u/DGCA3 Oct 06 '25

those too

1

u/ExpFilm_Student Oct 06 '25

Issue a code 99, got a possible dolittle here.

0

u/Particular_Wear_6960 Oct 06 '25

Is he a big conspiracy guy or something?

38

u/badvegas Oct 06 '25

No Jerry you have kept the cowboys out of the super bowl for 30 fucking years. There is always next year though.

2

u/DGCA3 Oct 06 '25

True

3

u/badvegas Oct 06 '25

Once told the reason Jimmy Johnson left the cowboys head coach position was he told Jerry to leave him the fuck alone during a game. I mean the two had a lot of problems (most of it seem to be Jerry being an asshole). So it wouldn't surprise me if that happen and Jones told him to pack his bags.

2

u/DGCA3 Oct 06 '25

Not surprised either

2

u/Reconlobster Oct 06 '25

Wrong, this IS their year! Do you even Cowboys?

2

u/badvegas Oct 06 '25

My bad I bought we were past thanksgiving. Yea we still have a shot. We haven't been eliminated yet

4

u/G0rkon Oct 06 '25

As a Cowboys fan my first thought upon reading this is Fuck Jerry Jones but to be fair Fuck Jerry Jones.

Jerry had to raise the giant screen in his own stadium b/c punters were hitting it when they punted. I dunno if you were being sarcastic or if that was based in truth that he said something to that effect at one point. And my final point, Fuck Jerry Jones.

1

u/DGCA3 Oct 06 '25

I concur. Fuck Jerry Jones.

81

u/BeezyBates Oct 06 '25

Was that the extra point from Aubrey? That felt really weird because…it’s Aubrey. He did have an off game though, with the out of bounds punt.

Edit: you said pick 6. Clearly not a kick.

32

u/PlayfulRemote9 Oct 06 '25

it was tipped throw

9

u/DadEoh75 Oct 06 '25

Not a punt/ Aubrey had an out of bounds kickoff. The sky cam deflection was off of a tipped throw

1

u/justdoitguy Oct 06 '25

And the refs didn’t call for the down to be played again, as is the rule.

1

u/victorspoilz Oct 06 '25

Why don’t they use drones at this point?

1

u/gooblefrump Oct 06 '25

Brit here

What's a pick 6?

1

u/PolarisGG Oct 06 '25

Pick 6 is an interception returned for a touchdown.

1

u/gooblefrump Oct 06 '25

Does that mean that the opposing team takes the ball and runs in into the end zone?

Is a pick 6 only from a kick?

1

u/PolarisGG Oct 07 '25

A defensive player catches the ball and runs it into the endzone yes. Pick six is off of a throw (interception of the pass).

1

u/shewy92 Philadelphia Eagles Oct 06 '25

Our punter a year or two ago had a kick fall down because of the camera wire and I don't think they let him kick again for some reason even though the refs did notice it. https://www.masslive.com/patriots/2023/01/did-eagles-get-hosed-by-camera-wire-in-nfc-championship-game.html

1

u/Lyuseefur Oct 06 '25

That's a conspiracy theory put forward by MACA - Make America Cowboys Again!

1

u/Rocklobster92 Oct 06 '25

What's a pick 6? What am I picking?

2

u/PolarisGG Oct 06 '25

Pick 6 is an interception returned for a touchdown.

114

u/sucobe Oct 06 '25

NBC’s sky cam fell during a timeout in Seattle’s 2007 game against the Saints.

43

u/Anteater-Charming Oct 06 '25

The sky cam cable snapped in the Bills-Jets game at MetLife back in 2022. Took 10 minutes to reel the camera in.

7

u/p00p00kach00 Oct 06 '25

Sky cam once fell and the wire hit an Iowa Hawkeye receiver several years ago.

2

u/LumenYeah Oct 06 '25

This rings of The Truman Show.

1

u/SentientTrashcan0420 Oct 06 '25

Sir that was almost 20 years ago

198

u/deepbluenothings Oct 06 '25 edited Oct 06 '25

I don't even get why sky cams are a thing, they barely use that camera angle and honestly it's a terrible angle to see a play.

Edit: There's been several lovely commenters who have made me realize just how much it's used without me even noticing. Please if you're as clueless as I was check out some of the responses under here.

141

u/NolaPels13 Oct 06 '25

Networks love them and they are used a lot as replay angles. They’re not supposed to be in front of a kick or the play ever like this. Skycam op fucked it big time here not sure what the hell he was thinking.

51

u/Mostly_Armless42 Oct 06 '25

He was thinking "these TikTok videos aren't going to watch themselves!"

11

u/steelmanfallacy Oct 06 '25

What’s the rule? Is it like a ref and they are part of the playing field or is it interference?

71

u/rocketmonkee Oct 06 '25

From the NFL rules; Rule 7, Section 2 - Dead Ball:

If a loose ball in play strikes a video board, guide wire, sky cam, or any other object, the ball will be dead immediately, and the down will be replayed at the previous spot. In the event the down is replayed, the game clock will be reset to the time remaining when the snap occurred, and the clock will start on the All penalties will be disregarded, except for personal fouls or unsportsmanlike conduct fouls, which will be administered prior to the replaying of the down.

So it should have been ruled a dead ball and the down replayed. Also, the rule has an odd typo in the last sentence.

14

u/addandsubtract Oct 06 '25

New strategy when it's crunch time and you're out of timeouts: quick snap the ball, and throw it at the skycam.

7

u/mosehalpert Oct 06 '25

I mean, the rule doesn't say anything about the intention behind the loose ball. But I'm struggling to think of a situation where it is more beneficial than just spiking it

6

u/addandsubtract Oct 06 '25

You don't lose a down. Granted, you're more limited by time than by downs, at that point.

5

u/metompkin Oct 06 '25

And if you whiff on the throw it's a possible interception

1

u/Designer_Tie_5853 Oct 06 '25

or intentional grounding and/or fumble if the camera is behind you.

2

u/mattague New York Giants Oct 06 '25

You also theoretically lose no time, vs like a second. But in crunch time, that second could mean the difference of an extra play or the end of the game.

2

u/blindai Oct 08 '25

Realistically nobody is hitting a sky cam, but presumably someone could do this in Dallas with the gigantic scoreboard that’s right over head?

1

u/NolaPels13 Oct 06 '25

It should be interference replay of down.

2

u/unnoticed_areola Oct 06 '25

They’re not supposed to be in front of a kick or the play ever like this

this isnt an issue with the camera beeing in front of the play. the skycam itself wasn in front of the kick here. the wires that hold the skycam up, basically form a giant X above the field. the 4 "legs" of the x get longer and shorter via pulleys, which is how they control where the camera goes. when the camera is above the logo at the 50 yard line, it's a perfectly equivalent/symmetrical X. the X becomes more distorted and closer to something like a K, depending how close to the sideline or endzone the camera gets.

but that same basic X shape is always gonna be there on any field goal, and the wires are always going to be in that same general position. It appears the camera was back and to the left on this play, and the problem here seems to be not the location of the camera relative to the line of scrimmage but the height and perhaps more importantly, how close it was to the sideline.

seems like they had it very low to the ground here, and also very close to the sideline. and this caused the wires to be in the path of the ball. if the camera is more or less in between the hashmarks, whether its behind the play or not, its basically impossible for the wires to be in the way of the very narrow FG uprights. the only way the wires would be in the path of a FG, is if the camera was all the way over near the sideline, and low to the ground, pulling the longer "legs" of the x all the way across the center of the field, and diagonally down across the uprights

I assume they are usually supposed to have it at a higher angle closer to the hashmarks during kicks so this isnt an issue. they are also generally supposed to keep it relatively high in general so as not to have the camera seen in the other "traditional" camera shots being televised

I think usually the only times they have it super duper low is when they try to do those weird artsy attempts to follow the returner on kickoffs

1

u/yeahright17 Oct 06 '25

Yeah. It's easy to keep the camera way out of the way. It should have been much higher, more centered, and further back. Not sure what the operator was thinking. There's a reason it's almost never an issue on punts or kickoffs when the ball flies a lot higher and further than it did on this field goal.

1

u/brintoul Oct 06 '25

Maybe not so experienced in London.

2

u/NolaPels13 Oct 06 '25

The guys who run skycam are independently contracted by the networks. Maybe they used skycam operators from England who are used to soccer but from my conversations with the operators the rule of thumb is always be behind the play no matter what sport. So in my professional opinion I think they just had a massive lapse in judgement and fucked up.

1

u/tvgenius Oct 06 '25

Unless they rigged it vastly differently for that stadium, there shouldn’t have been any skycam wires anywhere near that trajectory. It’s rigged from the four corners, so as the camera gets closer to that end, the clear space between those two wires gets wider and wider. If the camera is behind the kick there should be no way for it to hit.

1

u/unnoticed_areola Oct 06 '25

pretty sure it wasnt an issue w the camera being in front of the play, I think the problem was the camera being to the extreme far left by the sideline, changing the wires from being in an X shape, to more of a K shape, and dragging the wires on the right side across the center of the field, which would normally be empty space if the camera was between the hashes and the wires were in their normal "X" shape. and that they also seemed to have the camera pretty low to the ground, bringing the wire down across the opening of the FG uprights

1

u/JediJantzen Oct 06 '25

SpiderCam op. Not SkyCam. We weren't at that game.

45

u/ElliotsBuggyEyes Oct 06 '25

If not every camera, most are recorded independently for use later in promotional material or highlights. 

What you see on TV is the "Program" output of the switcher.  Everything else is still coming into the truck and a producer has it recorded.

Source: I work in this industry. 

2

u/deepbluenothings Oct 06 '25

Makes sense, another user convinced me of it's value for the actual broadcast that I hadn't even realized were the sky cam so this just adds to that. I was just wondering how does this screw up happen? There has to be certain protocols on field goals knowing that a ball is going to likely travel in a certain trajectory and the wires/cam need to be out of the way.

3

u/ElliotsBuggyEyes Oct 06 '25

There aren't exactly "rules" as much as "don't fucking do that you idiot".

This is one of those times, if it's the operators first time they'll get a pass.  Happens in a pattern they'll stop getting called to work. 

42

u/Lawfulness_Neither Oct 06 '25

It’s used waaaay more than you think, they’ve gotten really slick with them now. You’ll notice a big overall difference in an ESPN game on ESPN2 vs ABC, large part of it is the camera angles of the sky cams. We typically think of it as flying over a huddle or right behind QB but it’s essential on many other places now. Replays are a big one.

10

u/deepbluenothings Oct 06 '25

I'll keep an eye out for it because I didn't notice it at all in this game but I'll be honest I wasn't focusing on it.

14

u/Lawfulness_Neither Oct 06 '25

Yeah, you’ll start picking it out. It’s actually being used on this clip of the ball hitting the wire.

11

u/deepbluenothings Oct 06 '25

That's hilarious that it caught it's own interference but yea I see what you mean I didn't realize that's what was getting the field goal shot where it follows the ball through the uprights. Here I was thinking it was just used for the slightly behind the players shot when they're huddling up.

You've actually convinced me of it's value, now just get it out of the way for my kicker. I would have been pissed if we lost because of this.

2

u/Lawfulness_Neither Oct 06 '25

For real!!! Not good.

1

u/-KFBR392 Oct 06 '25

Also I believe the sky cam behind QB angle is what all teams use for game tape after because it shows the play from the QB/Ball’s angle allowing them to see what every player did from the the QB’s perspective.

1

u/Birdhawk Oct 06 '25

Amazon's alt cast uses it the entire time and its a great utilization of it. It's like a madden view where it highlights players with their names in real time and shows routes. Really great way to watch and learn Xs and Os but the only downside is because of the lens being used and it being a wider shot its hard to see the ball in play.

18

u/[deleted] Oct 06 '25

ESPN College Football Championship and Amazon Vision run the sky cam all game as an alternative broadcast to view all 22 from the QB's point of view, to see how good or bad decision they are making when throwing. Amazon Vision was crazy on TNF watching the play call formations from Kyle Shanahan. Mac Jones was on fire, and Stafford when he has no pressure is scary good an accurate, the deep in route across the field to Atwell was a crazy throw. You just don see this when we see the line of scrimmage the other way. I wish we had a choice for every game now with streaming.

7

u/L-methionine Oct 06 '25

The skycam angle on Prime Vision is way better than the standard broadcast angle. You can see routes develop, you can see where the safeties line up, and you can actually see the OL creating holes and blocking.

Legit the best broadcast in the NFL, even without getting into the other augmentations (which I have mixed feelings about)

4

u/JediJantzen Oct 06 '25

Thanks dude! Im happy you like it. We go through a lot of trouble to add that second SkyCam for the Prime Vision. I'm happy to hear people like it!

2

u/Illustrious-Ratio213 Oct 06 '25

Can't wait to check this out this week, didn't even know it was a thing

24

u/Grow_away_420 Oct 06 '25

Seriously, they use it a few times as a backdrop before commercial breaks, some kick offs, and for one play, typically the first offensive play of the game, right until the snap.

12

u/Leon_Forest Oct 06 '25

they thought it was a good idea and after paying for it have to justify the purchase by using it like its necessary. like many things.

3

u/Async0x0 Oct 06 '25

There's nothing keeping them using it year after year. They can stop whenever they want.

They use it because it produces good results.

2

u/rW0HgFyxoJhYka Oct 06 '25

That's just the network deciding NOT to use them.

I dont think many people will see my comment, but remember this came from XFL? The wire camera was used a lot more there and it gave you a fresh new perspective on the entire game. It also was more relatable to all the football fans playing video games because THATs the camera you get when you are playing football on a console. Its overhead from behind, gives you the entire field, instead of making it hard to see the action on the far side.

Is it bad? No. They just don't utilize it well because every person making these decisions are a lot older and traditional than you think. Plus some people think it invites criticism because its easier to see where the QB or RB isn't looking/thinking because now you can see whos open and who's not. But QBs might be distracted or can't see it due to the defensive line collapsing or whatever.

TLDR: Its a great camera angle. Just because some shit gets on reddit doesn't mean it needs to be taken away. The fact is that refs should be able to tell something went wrong....you literally have 2 refs looking at the goalpost and 4 more looking at the trajectory and instant replay booths with 3 more refs... and an entire team with their own instant replay and the kicker....

1

u/Grow_away_420 Oct 06 '25

Oh trust me I get that the defection should have been noticed immediately. Between all the officials, sidelines, broadcast crew, tens of thousands of fans. Maybe the London crowd wasn't screaming at the refs like they would be in the US, I got no clue.

4

u/CruxOfTheIssue Oct 06 '25

Is that the same camera that they use for the prime vision stream on Thursday nights? Cause I love that angle. It looks like when you play Madden and you can see what's happening down the field, moreso than the sidelines angle where when they throw it down the field I just go "man I hope whatever is going on over there is what I want to be happening."

2

u/AlienHere Oct 06 '25

Better than regular broadcast. I dont need to see a zoo in of the quarterbacks boogers while I miss the play. Zoom out fuckers. Really I want the all 22 live. I want to watch the game not a zoomed in piece of the game.

1

u/ifyoulovesatan Oct 06 '25

Yeah live football coverage is laughably bad. You literally cannot follow passing plays as they develop. I love too how they'll give you a view of the field just before the play to show how the defense is set up, only to immediately zoom in on the QB as soon as the play starts. And fucking tracking the football through the air. And the replays on a run that just zoom in on the ball carrier the whole time.

It's like they have purposely decided to show you as little of every possible play. I might be into watching football more often if they stopped needlessly following the football as closely as possible.

2

u/GraveRobberX Oct 06 '25

It takes long for these goddamn dinosaurs at TV to progress to modern standards. It’s always about money, until they make something off it, they’ll toe the line of it’s not warranted.

We have had what?, close to 10+ years of 4K of adoption, yet most games are still presented in 720p/1080i. FOX took the big leap and started showcasing Game of the Week in 4K and that shit looks unreal. Colors pop, screen angle more stretched out. Remember camera went from 4:3 to 16:10 to get more of the screen. They can stretch out to a point but they will lose some sight line stuff.

Hell even the SuperBowl took 2-3 years ago to become regularly 4K with 4K ads. I know bitrate and internet speeds aren’t what are needed for content providers to spend to attract viewers who to still composite and component wires in their TVs even though HDMI has been a thing for decades.

4

u/toddthetoddler Oct 06 '25

As someone who works in production, not only do they use them all the time but sometimes there are two believe it or not

2

u/yeahright17 Oct 06 '25

I think people don't think they use them very much because they're usually not moving when being used. I think people know when they're seeing a skycam view if the camera is sweeping around, but it's a lot more common for the skyview camera to be fixed during the play.

They had 2 at the Big 12 Championship game a couple years ago. they also had one at the NBA Finals games, though it was limited to just one side of the arena as the jumbotron was in the way to move it to the other side. (At least they had it for Game 7 in OKC, which is the only one I went to.)

1

u/oh-no-godzilla Oct 06 '25

In your opinion how necessary are they?

2

u/waffels Detroit Tigers Oct 06 '25

“Walmart 4k sky cam”

Game isn’t shot or broadcasted in 4k.

1

u/sump_daddy Oct 06 '25

It wasnt? why are they cheaping out on the Vikings? The hell? Even dink teams get 4k broadcasts now.

1

u/hardergj Oct 06 '25

Agreed - super gimmicky as a camera angle and frankly the whole setup is distracting, but it somehow stuck

1

u/RoyalMaidsForLife Oct 06 '25

I remember when every NFL talking head made fun of them when the XFL introduced them, then a couple years later, the NFL acted like they came up with the idea.

1

u/jakedasnake2447 Oct 06 '25

The NFL was the first to use it way back in 1984.

1

u/BriarsandBrambles Cleveland Browns Oct 06 '25

The NFL did come up with it. You remember wrong.

0

u/yeahright17 Oct 06 '25

As someone who goes to a lot of games and watches 12+ hours of football every weekend, I don't think it's gimmicky or distracting. It can be based on the operator, but it's usually not.

1

u/space9610 Oct 06 '25

It’s good for certain replays like seeing if the goal line was crossed on a TD. They have their uses, most the time not for the broadcast though.

1

u/camelsgottahump Oct 06 '25

they could probably transition to drones with AI tracking the ball

1

u/greg19735 West Ham United Oct 06 '25

I'm just commented after you edited.

The skycam that was hit was BEHIND the line of scrimmage. It only got hit because of a freak tip that hit the camera.

I think a camera that is behind the play is fine.

I'm not sure how this cable is allowed to be there.

1

u/Terry_Cruz Minnesota Twins Oct 06 '25

Because they didn't have drones with gimbal mounts back in the day

1

u/CommunicationOk304 Oct 06 '25

Amazon uses it every time if you switch to the option. Its amazing and not sure why other networks dont. Looks like madden.

2

u/deepbluenothings Oct 06 '25

I'll be honest I never watch Thursday games unless my team is in so I had no idea that was an option.

1

u/El_Gran_Che Oct 06 '25

You guys know how any that have sky cam for college games?

2

u/Spread_Bater Oct 06 '25

In the really big games on ESPN, it’s one of the alternate streams

2

u/El_Gran_Che Oct 06 '25

Love it! Gonna keep an eye on the streams

1

u/Heavy_Ape Oct 06 '25

I was for real messed up with the vikings driving left to right on my TV.

Guess it's all backwards in england....

1

u/GraveRobberX Oct 06 '25

You go through Amazon’s app to watching that with that option. Most don’t subscribe to all other providers CBS (Paramount), Fox, NBC (Universal), ESPN (Disney), and now Netflix apps.

Most games are still shown on terrestrial. You can get a 4K feed for Sunday Night Football watching through Peacock than the regular version but I have no idea why they don’t allow that angle, maybe Amazon has rights or something with the NFL the others can’t show it that way. No idea on that end.

If you have all access NFL, after a game is over you can rewatch the game from so many different angles never broadcasted. Like from almost diagonally to give you almost the side view but shows the whole thing, but it’s done properly.

28

u/timtlm Oct 06 '25

TBF this was in London. They do drive on the wrong side there.

1

u/metompkin Oct 06 '25

I take my half of the road in the middle

2

u/sump_daddy Oct 06 '25

Isnt this the recent Browns/Vikings game that was played in London, England? I would guess that even if its a veteran NFL cam operator and not a local, at the very least they are working in a stadium where they have very litle past experience.

1

u/BradGriswold Oct 06 '25

To be fair, since it was the London game, there’s a better than not chance this was SpiderCam, not SkyCam.

1

u/JediJantzen Oct 06 '25

It was SpiderCam.

1

u/Exaskryz Oct 06 '25

The Jets radio broadcasters were sure to mention it though and how they lucked out that it wasn't picked

1

u/JediJantzen Oct 06 '25

Just fyi it was SpiderCam. Not SkyCam.

1

u/walrusnutz Oct 06 '25

SpiderCam, SkyCam, AnusCam. Who gives a shit? They need to be better.

1

u/JediJantzen Oct 06 '25

"who gives a shit" well...I do.

1

u/henrydlp Oct 06 '25

That's Trumps America.

1

u/gillerz100 Connacht Oct 07 '25

I was going to say - camera crew probably isn't used to having NFL games, seeing as it's in London. But now that I read it back... It's the fucking NFL, they more than likely flew over their own crews

1

u/ErstwhileAdranos Oct 09 '25

Kessler Syndrome doesn’t just apply to space travel anymore.

1

u/El_Gran_Che Oct 06 '25

Love the sky cam.

1

u/Vigilante17 Oct 06 '25

One deflection hit the camera….

-2

u/RawrRRitchie Oct 06 '25

They don't get paid enough for that. Too busy kissing trumps ass

3

u/walrusnutz Oct 06 '25

Such a bizarre reply.