Super Bowl Refereeing Demands Excellent Vision

This Sunday is the National Football League’s championship game – Super Bowl LII and millions of football fans will have their eyes glued to television sets to watch the New England Patriots face off against the Philadelphia Eagles. With all the passes, blocks, turnovers and tackles, the player action on the field is what commands fans’ attention.

But the outcome of the game often rests on the shoulders – actually the eyes – of one man who isn’t a professional athlete: The referee.  And how many thousands of fans have shouted at the ref: “Get your eyes checked!” after a questionable play call?

This Super Bowl, the eyes calling the plays with the potential to determine who wins, or loses, the game belong to Gene Steratore, a veteran game official who has been a referee with the NFL since 2006.

Interestingly, it appears Mr. Steratore requires vision correction. In fact, it was reported back in 2014 that a game he was officiating was delayed because his contact lens came out during the first quarter.

Those types of disruptions during critical moments in life is why many, including professional athletes, have turned to laser vision correction procedures to improve their vision so they don’t have to rely on contacts and glasses to see clearly. Because when you need sharp, accurate vision instantaneously, contacts and glasses have a habit of letting you down.

This post originally appeared on the ARSC Insight Blog

 

Be sure to talk to one of our doctors about not only the benefits of vision correction, but also any risks of vision correction that may pertain to your individual needs and circumstances.