Whether you’re cheering for the Denver Broncos or the Carolina Panthers – or just waiting to see the new TV commercials – the constellation of satellites known as the Global Positioning System will be there. The program that originated with the heritage organizations known today as the Space and Missile Systems Center will play a silent, but important role in professional football’s biggest showcase.
Football players with the Carolina Panthers and other NFL teams have started using GPS technology for tracking a player’s heart rate, pace, speed, step balance, dynamic stress loads, force of impact by an opponent and other valuable data during practices that could be worth millions. Originally used in another kind of football called soccer, these GPS devices fit in the palm of your hand and are worn under a player’s pads, allowing sports physicians to monitor various vital signs much the same way NASCAR engineers monitor a car’s engine on the racetrack.
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