A small sample:

Holographic viewing
‘We could have scenarios in the future where no
one goes to watch sport live, preferring instead to
watch it on television,’ says Roy Jones, professor
of sports technology at Loughborough University.
A member of our LifeSigns Network took their
daughter to a football match and she couldn’t
understand why she couldn’t rewind the action,
as she was used to watching football on Sky+.
As there are not sufficient spaces at stadiums
to fulfil demand, clubs and broadcasters will
look to creating richer viewing experiences for
fans. ‘We will watch TV in 3D in pubs, giant
screens outside stadiums and eventually in the
home, all without the need for funny coloured
glasses’ comments Graham Fisher, Managing
Director, Orange Research and Development.

There's a connection here, a line into human nature, that begins in the sight of a player making a brilliant sidestep, dropping the ball off to a teammate, taking it back and firing it into the top corner of goal. It speaks to people however they see it, wherever they are, and that's what I find fascinating. Crowd intensity and community/tribal loyalty add something to it, but at bottom it's not the same as either.

And Jim, if the only way to talk about that is to talk about theology, then let's talk about theology! So much more interesting than one more rehash of the debate about television.

No doubt via the red button, many interactive options will be possible – and it's interesting how computer games are already ahead of TV in this regard. But my eyes can wander wherever they like whenever they like during a match. Whatever happens, there will always be a limited number of cameras and a limited screen size on which to display those images. And even choosing camera angles still leaves you in the hands of the director.

And Brian, just because *you have the same emotions on the couch as in the stand, it doesn't follow that the billions watching on TV do, or that they share their feelings with the saints in glory. It will be one of the regrets of my football life, that I never went to Notts County the Saturday after Sturrock left. The game itself (not televised, natch) was a bland 0-0, Luke saved a penalty given for a handball that hit Shelley's chest and the then ex-managers son had a goal ruled out for offside. But 2000 Pilgrims turned up to say, effectively, that managers come and managers go but our loyalty to Plymouth Argyle remains the same. Even if the game had been on telly, there's no way I could feel the same intensity as being there. The point was to go – to share in a communal outpouring of grief, defiance and loyalty. The casual fan in a Chelsea shirt in Seoul won't feel the same as the Accrington fan from 1910, watching his former workmates alongside his family and friends. Honestly, this just seems obvious.

ALSO: Right on about Cantona's arrogance. That delayed triumphant arm-raise/too huge for mere celebration celebration has to be one of the most self-glorifying gestures in sport: it's saying, I'm so good I can afford to scorn overstatement. You want to tell him it's hubris and to look out for poisoned arrows, but you know he'll just do it again. Something worth seeing, absolutely.

What if you had more choice at home? What if you could choose the camera angle? (Some sports broadcasts have offered these kind of capabilities at times) What if technology advances so we do have some choice on the focus — maybe a 3-D choice some day?

And is watching the real thing at the ground really a perfect, complete experience?