Throw balls at the screen: Now the basketball hoop is also getting smart
3.11.2022
Translation: machine translated
In the search for new ways to mount screens on sports equipment, the basketball hoop has become the target of visionaries. Away with the board, on with the screen, and "The Huupe" is ready. Is what belongs together growing together?
Imagine buying a giant screen costing 4000 francs, which at least boasts HD resolution - and then hanging it in the driveway or the backyard to throw basketballs at it. An idea that perhaps irritates me so much because it is the opposite of what a backyard court or the basket above the garage door used to be. A way to switch off while the ball rattles through the chain net. It would be easy to scoff at the Huupe concept now, and maybe I'll do that in a minute. But the world is changing. Since the sports industry has made online training and connected devices the megatrend, every device possible should remain connected to the constantly paying customers forever via screen and subscription model. We all decide whether the providers get away with it. I was recently allowed to test a fitness mirror and was initially fascinated. It looks cool, it's fun - but at some point the magic fades and then it's just an expensive dust collector.
At least for me, I don't tend to make impulse purchases in this price range and will probably never throw the Huupe, which can only be pre-ordered in the US anyway, into any shopping basket. But I am a curious observer of the development.
What can The Huupe do?
With the Huupe, you not only get an approximately 170x120 centimetre weatherproof screen with built-in 20-watt stereo speakers, but also everything else you need. A height-adjustable basket system, for example. And that's when it strikes me that the system isn't that expensive after all. Well, there are cheap baskets, but of course I'm comparing with the high-end segment. With this alternative from Spalding, according to the description, you still need a counterweight of about 230 kilograms. Best to put gold bars on it.
Which brings me back to the horn and the topic of theft protection, because a giant screen like this, visible from afar, may arouse covetousness. You might leave the horn out in the rain at night with bad feelings. But don't worry, the manufacturer reassures you, the part is quite heavy, secured with a special lock and only works on its suspension anyway. Hopefully the thieves know that. And vandals who could spray or scratch the fancy thing are certainly not around in your villa neighbourhood anyway. Presumably, the first devices will be placed where the money is loose or used as an attraction at events.
Provided it is neither stolen nor damaged, the horn can not only set tasks and count hits, but also offers training sessions that can be selected via an app and are intended to turn you into a subscription customer. If you've played basketball professionally for a few years, you can also apply to become a coach.
In addition to recorded sessions, there will also be live training sessions; you will be connected to your coach or fellow players via the integrated camera. And as soon as you're not just playing canned music, but life comes into it, I find the concept more interesting. Playing a round of Horse or competing in a free-throw contest against an old buddy who now lives 800 kilometres away but is also rich enough to have a hooter in the yard - there's something about that.
Maybe gamification works better with games than with monotonous training in front of a fitness mirror. Everyone sweats on their own, but here you build a relationship through the direct duel. Maybe something like Huupe is a gamechanger. Instead of playing NBA 2K23 on the Playstation, you can shoot real baskets and still look at a screen, which would be a good compromise for couch potatoes. You can also just stream an NBA game or a series while you're aiming for the hooter. We'll soon forget how to look properly anyway. With the smartphone as a second screen in front of our noses, many people only look up at the highlights. Then they'd rather throw balls at the screen. The more I think about it - and ignore the price - the more I like the idea.
Who thinks it's stupid?
A lot of people, I'm sure. Because: Where have we got to? And maybe James Naismith is turning in his grave. The man invented basketball when he was tasked in 1891 with developing an indoor sport at the YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts, to get his hyperactive group of students through the winter. 13 rules and two peach baskets that the caretaker still had lying around were enough for one of the best ideas in sports history.
Source: gemeinfrei
Basketball immediately excited and yet it was quite good that the basic idea was kept but a few subtleties were developed. The first game ended 1-0, dribbling was not yet part of the game and the ball was allowed to be an "ordinary association football". The board, which now mutates into a screen, was also introduced later. As the baskets were suspended from the spectator gallery, it was intended to prevent boisterous fans from interfering in the game.
The tradition-conscious are, of course, always free to play classically and poke the ball out of the basket with a broomstick after every hit.
Basketball set for traditionalists:
If Naismith had worked at Samsung a few decades later, he might have come up with the flat screen idea himself. As it is, however, it is safe to assume that he would have hated the horn. But ... maybe not. Because he was a stranger to the game getting rougher and complained as early as 1910, saying "Oh my gracious, they are murdering my game" about the rotten mores. The rule that the game should be played without physical contact was important to the man - and that's where the hooter can help, of course. So maybe Naismith would have been a fan after all.
Source: gemeinfrei
What next?
In the permanent lockdown of 2043, when after the Omikron, Opfikon and Gamescom waves the Minion variety forces us to spend our Pandemic evenings largely alone, something like the Huupe could be a great way to pass the time. In the evenings from 10 p.m. onwards, when the temperature drops below 38 degrees, throwing a few balls with friends connected to the screen by the light of the screen - that would have something. I'd prefer that to just playing on the Playstation or diving into Zuck's Metaverse. Whereas with the horn I would be worried that the navi-in-car effect would strike.
Whoever commits to a fixed system eventually finds that it becomes hopelessly outdated after not too long and the smartphone is simply better. So there would have to be a replacement option to stay up to date. Or maybe Apple will just take over. With the iPad XXXXL, to which the iHoop can be connected. I'll make up my mind: Huupe will conquer the world or fail miserably. But we will get used to half-real, half-virtual playing faster than James Naismith can turn in his grave. Until that happens, we'll keep his beautiful game classic, simple and affordable.
titelbild: screenshot Youtube
Sports scientist, high-performance dad and remote worker in the service of Her Majesty the Turtle.