While baseball leagues around the world are using cutouts of fans and characters in the empty stands during their games, the NBA is turning virtual.
Even if you can no longer sit courtside, you can still have your face show up as if you were right there on the sideline watching the game.
In the Orlando bubble, up to 300 fans per game will be shown on 17-foot video boards sponsored by Michelob beer, according to USA TODAY’s Mark Medina.
Microsoft Teams will use its new “Together” mode to make it look like the fans are sitting together in the stands and not at home on their couch, according to CNET.
“Our goal is to create an enjoyable and immersive experience where fans can engage with each other and maintain a sense of community as we restart the season under these unique and challenging circumstances,” NBA head of Next Gen Telecast Sara Zuckert said in a statement to CNET.
The video will put the participants’ heads in empty seating. Microsoft shared a photo with CNET to demonstrate what this would look like in a classroom, and it’s something that can be replicated into a stadium setting.
People on the call will have access to “more than 30 cameras” and microphones that capture sounds from the floor, according to CNET.
That doesn’t mean players will be able to hear the fans’ cheers and jeers.
The virtual fans will be stuck doing virtual cheers.
