3 Data | Space

Sometime in the 1990s, hockey pucks on television began to glow. The technology that enabled pucks during ostensibly live broadcasts to emit a bloom of light was developed by the Fox Network and implemented as part of its exclusive agreement with the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 1996 playoff season. Officially named FoxTrax, but colloquially known as the “glow puck,” the effect was realized by embedding infrared transmitters in the puck, which were then tracked by an array of sensors positioned around the hockey arena. The effect generated a bright blue glow around the puck, making it easier for inexperienced viewers to follow its location on-screen. Adding to the drama, the blue glow switched to red when the puck was detected to be traveling in excess of seventy miles per hour—primarily during shots on goal—creating a dazzling red tail like a comet. Television broadcasts were delayed by slightly more than a second to give the computers receiving the infrared signals time to process the puck location and to generate its colorful aura without occluding the human figures on the ice. Although casual viewers were probably grateful for the visual aid, the glow puck was scrapped less than three years later because of overwhelmingly negative responses from devoted hockey fans. The glow puck is now primarily remembered as one of the worst innovations in sports history.