We seem to have a bit a problem with drones. We shoot them out of the sky, ban them from flying over us, and even our eagles seem to hate them. Now professional athletes are joining in the anti-drone crusade.
In an apparent marketing push by Sport Check, a sports apparel company, Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos took to the ice to hit targets hanging from drones flying over the rink. Even though hockey stars have shown in the past that they are capable of hitting some ridiculously small things from far away, doing so against moving targets in the air proved a bit more challenging. Stamkos hit the targets hovering closer to the ground, but shanked a few pucks wide of the drones hovering higher up. Then, he was just a little too accurate, nailing one of the drones square in the camera. Skating away, Stamkos says, “I hate drones.”
That being said, if you were to combine drones filming from overhead with the NHL’s recent partnership with GoPro, live hockey might be a lot more fun to watch on TV.