This Sunday, the New England Patriots take on the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 60.
Scott Thornhill is attending the big game for the first time.
"I know I'll get emotional," Thornhill said. "I have no doubt that it'll be just a very intense time."
Even though he'll be there, Thornhill won't see the game. He's blind. He was diagnosed at 8 years old with a condition that affects his retinas. His vision got worse over time, but that didn't stop him from playing football all through college.
Now, he's the executive director of the American Council of the Blind. On Sunday, he and a handful of other blind and low vision fans will get to experience the Super Bowl in a new way.
"We will actually be using what's called the OneCourt device," Thornhill said. "It's a haptic device, so we're able to feel what's going on by how the ball moves around the field. It'll have real-time play-by-play information for us so that we can know what's happening without a delay."
The device looks like a tabletop version of the field. Fans put their hands on its surface to feel the ball's movement in real time.
"The fact that I could know again that it's a handoff to the running back, who's running to the right side," Thornhill said. "Those little things. Someone watching it and trying to describe it to me, it's challenging, especially if they're not necessarily a sports person. For me to be able to do that myself is just amazing."
Thomas Panek is the president and CEO of Lighthouse Guild, a vision and healthcare organization in New York City. He said gaps are improving for how people who are blind or have low vision access live events at home, too.
Audio description helps, whether it's built into the program itself or someone is sitting alongside them describing what is happening.
Technology has closed some gaps. Computers can read stats. Announcers can give the play-by-play. Now, haptic tablets can show the action on the field.
"I can even imagine a day where a person who is blind or visually impaired is following the ball and telling our sighted peers exactly where the ball is," Panek said. "It's sometimes hard to follow on TV altogether."
This year, Panek will be tuning in to the game at home, surrounded by friends, family and his guide dog "Ten," named after Eli Manning.
"I call him my Labrador receiver," Panek said.
Belynda Gardner, the NFL's Senior Director of Inclusion and Development, said a lot of the league's work has focused on physical aspects, like improving wheelchair access. The haptic tablet trial broadens this work.
"Football is for everyone," Gardner said. "There are fans in all aspects and all levels of diversity. And so for us, we have to continue to make sure that we are finding ways to service them."
For Thornhill, it means much more than that.
"You're no longer the blind person who someone has to tell what's going on," Thornhill said. "You can now enjoy it and be a part of things."
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