The super Bowl Isn't So Super For The 1 in 12 Men With Color Blindness.
But here's how we can fix that...
Figure 1, below, compares a color-typical person's experience with a simulated red-green color-blind person's.
As you can see, these folks live in a yellow/blue duotone world. The special situation here is that green is experienced as yellow and so is red. The result, in the case of the 2024 Super Bowl, the Cincinnati Chiefs appear as virtual ghosts while the San Francisco 49ers are far more visible. (figure 2). When compared with the experience of a color-typical person (figure 3), there is a significant qualitative and quantitative difference.
123 million television viewers tuned in. Statistically, 5 1/2 million of them were likely watching a version of it similar to the simulation.
Or were they watching? How much of a deterrent is this not so rarified experience? Are color-blind, potential watchers, maybe future fans ... electing to just skip it. Is there a missing million of potential viewers that could be monetized by the NFL and its advertisers? Is their a disenfranchised million of wishful family members and friends that are wholly or partially left out of a signature American event that engages over 1/3 of the U.S. population? An event in which even young kids can participate via Nickelodeon coverage featuring SpongeBob SqaurePants and Squidward J. Q. Tentacles.
The color adjustments in figure 4 can fix all of that, as you can see in figure 5. I think, while the change is not that dramatic, the effect for color-blind persons is significant.
So what are the hurdles?
Changing the field color to blue-green? Well, section 1, article 1, (the very first rule) in the NFL rule book states " The surface of the entire field of play must be a League-approved shade of green." Ooh boy! So while colleges have seemingly full freedom for grass color, and you can take look for yourself in Wikipedia (external link), the NFL has brand-colored the turf. By the way, The color I chose is a close match to Coastal Carolina University's Books Stadium (external link).
Changing the Chief's red uniforms to red-orange? Changing a risk-averse, $3.7 billion sports corporation's brand color is hard. It just is.
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