It’s safe to say that technology has made sporting events better in a lot of ways. Scoreboards are better. Sound systems are clearer and louder. Spotify and Apple Music have also been a godsend for whoever gets stuck running music at the scorer’s table. We’ve come a long way from the “2002 Football Pump Up Mix” burned CD that gave the family computer AIDS after somebody discovered LimeWire.
The ability to livestream games from small towns like Velva, Hazen, Park River, Rugby and many others is great for exposure and giving our athletes a chance to be seen.
One thing that technology has made unquestionably worse is QR code programs. I hate them with every ounce of my being. This is also not intended to be some hipster take of, “I’m old school, check out my homemade jeans and wool cap,” to get attention. I love modern technology in many forms. When it comes to game programs, physical media in general, I am with the Boomers on this one. The old way is far superior.
Make the thing look good and give people something worth keeping. Put in team photos, rosters, tournament history, past champions, school information, whatever you want. Sell enough ads to local banks, implement dealers, funeral homes and whoever else wants one to pay for the whole damn thing. If it’s a state tournament, charge $5 or $10 if you need to. People will pay it.
A QR CODE AT ANY STATE TOURNAMENT IS A CRIMINAL ACT
A state tournament program should be a souvenir, not a PDF.
Twenty years from now, nobody is digging through an old box and getting nostalgic over a QR code they scanned in 2026. They might actually keep a well-made program, though. That is the entire point.
Let’s think about the 2026 State A Boys Basketball Tournament in Fargo. Imagine being a Beulah player, coach, parent or fan. You win the state championship for the first time since 2012, and the official program from the weekend is a QR code that lets you print the thing yourself on 8×10 computer paper.
There’s no booklet. Nothing easy to carry around, save or put on a shelf. If you want to preserve it, you’ve gotta bust out a blue folder and file it away like an old tax return. Remember old basketball programs where you could keep score? Some schools are still fighting the good fight and including that, and for that I salute you.
Fast-forward to 2046. Brandon Shirado wants to show his grandkids something from the state championship run he shared with his son, Braylen, back in 2026.
Here’s how that scene plays out:
“Hey kids, gather ’round. I’m going to show you the state championship game I coached your dad in when he was a senior back in ’26. First, I need to sign into my WDAY-Valley News Live-Your Live Event-PSP-Beck Xtra app to get access to the stream. If you can both pull out your phones, I’ll share the QR code for the program so you can stare at your screens while I tell you about it.”
COST-EFFECTIVE, EFFICIENCY-CENTERED, OPTIMIZATIONAL PLANNING
The justification is always the same handful of words that make my skin crawl: efficiency, optimization, cost-effective. The fan experience at a high school football game should not be impacted by the employee of the month from LinkedIn.
Somewhere, some Johnny Pencil-pusher told the school board that, “Erm, actually, if we just use QR codes for our game-day programs, we can save $507 in the athletics budget. We can circle back to this later if you want to table this discussion.”
Ugh, you know the type.
Apparently, that’s enough to decide everyone at the game needs one more reason to stare at their phone. The same people who bitch and moan about kids being on their phones too much give them every excuse to do so if they can get their belly rubbed for saving a few bucks on the balance sheet. For shame. (Click on the word apparently, it’s worth it I promise)
If your school is having money problems because of your game-day programs, you have bigger issues. Figure it out. I don’t care how you do it, but do not give me a link to a QR code. It fills me with rage.
I understand the savings argument. I just don’t care. At some point, “cost-effective” becomes another way of saying, “We made the experience worse because we are lazy.” Gameday management and making it worthwhile for those there isn’t free. You get what you pay for, and if you pay nothing in terms of a program, it takes away from the experience.
Not everything needs to be optimized. Some things were already fine.
Print the damn program.
About The Author
