Raptors Shot Caller Takes You Inside A Virtual Sports Bar

 

I as a blog writer am kind of left to wonder what all my readers are thinking each day. I don’t get that instant kind of feedback. Well now I found a way to interact with my audience and have some fun while I am doing it. Raptors TV has been telling you about a new feature on Raptors.com called Shot Caller. I figured being a responsible somewhat journalist I would go check it out. I mean if people that are reading this blog might be part of this thing I needed to see what it was all about. Some of you that read are not as old as me but if you are in your 30’s you all can remember the things they had in bars that would let you play trivia and play along with sporting events. It was a big fad in sports bars and roadhouses across North America. Well the Raptors have found a company in Canada (Which is great) to bring that kind of experience to the modern age on your computer.

LiveHive Systems is a company based in Waterloo, Ontario. They are the people that run the game for the Toronto Raptors. I am not certain but if Chris Bosh was not busy playing this is the kind of thing that would be up his alley. Bosh has gained attention for all his Internet adventures mostly on U-tube and his own website. Live Hive has made a place for the fans of CB4 and the rest of his Raptor Team where they can have fun and play along with them in a way. The Shot Caller has several features:

*       Polling: Questions are posed for viewers (i.e., Who do you think would win in a shootout between Chris Bosh or Allen Iverson?), then the answers are accumulated and the results posted.
*       Group play: Players invite their friends to play along with them so the group can have its very own competition and its very own Leader Board.
*       Chat: Sponsors, teams and broadcasters can now participate by chatting to viewers via NanoGaming’s enhanced Chat function.
*       Facebook: Players can download a Facebook application and see how they are performing as compared to their friends listed on Facebook.

I have went and played and watched what went on like I said. The game is kind of like a basketball IQ test in real time. You can be asked to guess what will happen in the game you need to be watching while playing. Trivia about the Raptors from all through their history. Also questions about the team they are facing being the Magic in this case. But in addition to that you can chat with your fellow fans as you play. You will see the joy and frustration of your fellow Raptor fans in real time. It is like having a party and having 100 guests but not having to feed them or offer them anything to drink. I as a Raptor fan have learned through writing a blog that there are many Raptor fans out there. But in a Hockey first Canada it is not always easy to find a large group of people that are basketball fans. This helps you find some and makes some friends from all across the world and close to home. That is the great thing about the Internet.

Raptors are really making an effort to reach out to the so called “U-Tube” generation and Raptor’s Shot caller is an example of that. Here is what someone from MLSE had to say about it:

“We want to engage our fans in the playoff experience and this partnership with LiveHive allows us to reward our fans,” said Chris Hebb, Senior VP of Broadcast & Content, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. “It is a lot of fun and free to play. It will bring Raptors fans together from right across Canada.”

There have been many people including myself that have said the Raptors need to build that national feel to the Toronto Raptors. This is an attempt on behalf of MLSE to do that. They have also supported a Canadian Company to do that. But they are working with them because they know what they are doing as well. LiveHive previously brought its NanoGaming technology to football, baseball, NASCAR, hockey, Mixed Martial Arts, and reality TV. Most of note to basketball fans is they have worked with Comcast and the Sixers bringing them a product similar to Shot Caller.

So I have been on the Internet a longtime and you are saying at this point that is great but what is in it for me. Well for starters it’s FREE and there is not much of that on the Internet anymore. There is also the chance to win Prizes from the Raptors based on your abilities at the game. It also let’s you have some fun and interact with other Raptor fans like you from the comfort of in front of your computer. It has the chance to expand into greater things I would imagine as well. To attempt to give you an idea of what it is like I happened to run into couple of my readers on the shot caller and will ask them a few questions to help you out on what it is like from a fan perspective:

1. What made you decide to try shot caller?

Ro Ro: What had me drawn to shot caller was the prospect of making predictions that were beyond just “who will win the game?” I felt it to be a great challenge and thought it would be a lot of fun to try.

KTurner:I saw it ad during a Raptors game, it sounded like a nice idea. I was in desperate need of tickets to game 3.

2. How did it change your experience of watching A Raptor Game?

Ro Ro:Playing shot caller gave me *yet another* reason to focus on some of the finer details of the game because of the incentive of gaining points. It was a way to challenge myself and my knowledge of the game…not to mention the chance to win some pretty sweet prizes

KTurner:I found it very hard to watch the Raptors game because my television and my computer are not located in the same area of my house, so I had to run back and forth between both during gameplay.

3. Would you tell a friend to try it? Why or Why Not?

Ro Ro:I would definitely tell a friend to try it because I think it would be fun to not only play against one another (for bragging rights of course) but also to interact in the chat…maybe talk a little trash (for fun obviously). however the only reason I wouldn’t recommend it is so that I wouldn’t have as much competition

KTurner:I would definatly tell my friends about this game, it’s a great opportunity for Raptors fans to win great prizes and chat about the game with other fans live!

4. What is best thing about it to you?

Ro Ro:I really enjoy the challenge in the predictions as well as the instant recall questions but by far the best aspect of shot caller for me is the interaction with the fans in the chat!

KTurner:Just the fact that it allows hardcore Raptors fans like me to win great prizes and interact with other fans.

5. What would you like to see in the future with this game?

Ro Ro: I would like to see this game occur not just for the playoffs but maybe during the regular season as well. Somehow integrate it more often throughout the course of the season asl well as expand it a bit more throughout the NBA (like a fantasy pool game of sorts)!!!

KTurner:The only thing I think needs improvement is the timing of the questions. It would be much easier if the questions came up between every stoppage of play, that way fans trying to watch the game won’t be interrupted during the game, and could simply walk to the computer to answer questions during breaks.

I want to point out these are people that I selected and was not given to me by the Raptors or LiveHive. It is an actual reader(s) of this blog I felt that was important to me to mention. It is ultimately up to you the Dino Nation Blog readers and Raptor Fans in general to decide for yourself. But it is not costing you a dime to do that and you actually might win something that is a pretty good deal if you ask me. If this is a success I would imagine that it will continue into next season and beyond. It is a new way to experience a sporting event and I personally enjoyed the experience it makes writing my recaps of games a little more of a challenge and probable costs me some points in the game itself. But that is ok it still was a fun experience to see what a random collection of Raptor Fans are thinking during a game. That is a useful tool for me as a Blogger. But for the average fan it is just a lot of fun. So click on the Logo below and give it a shot. See if you have what it takes to be a Shot Caller:

 

For the record if you are looking for me I am Username: DinoNationBlog just so you can see for yourself I actually do play and use this product. If I didn’t you would not be reading about it.

Home of Dino Nation Blog:http://dinonationblog.wordpress.com

Tags: LiveHive, MLSE, Raptors, Shot Caller