The NFL's yellow first-down line: Nautical edition

Stan Honey, the inventor of that helpful TV aid, opens up about how he's taking his talents to the America's Cup

Oracle racing
(Image credit: REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini)

The NFL regular season kicked off Thursday night with Peyton Manning leading the Denver Broncos to a 49-27 thumping of the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens. And for the casual fan watching on television, the game was made much clearer thanks to a development that we all recognize and, frankly, have started to take for granted: the yellow first-down line.

The super-helpful technology has been a staple of NFL broadcasts for years, superimposed onto the screen to give couch-bound fans a clear indicator of whether that scrambling quarterback actually managed to pick up a first down — without having to wait for on-field refs to pull out an antiquated set of chains and measure. Now, the technology's creator, Stan Honey, is taking his helpful line to sailing, a sport that's hoping to beef up it's television viewership through a marquee event.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.