Thursday Night Football sent confusion rushing through certain members of the NFL fan base on Nov. 12.
Over the summer, the National Football League tested what it’s calling “Color Rush” games on standard T.V. What it didn’t account for was its fans who are colorblind. So, what was supposed to be a red vs. green game looked all the same color to those living with color blindness.
The Buffalo Bills entered the stadium in all red jerseys while the New York Jets were in all green. When the “Color Rush” idea first made its appearance, the NFL had not thought about the card that color blindness would play in the “Color Rush” plan.
“If I was the NFL, I probably wouldn’t have people with colorblindness in mind when it comes to all the ‘Color Rush’ stuff,” said Luke Janke, an FGCU student. “I definitely think they should’ve thought of it because I’m sure there are people in the NFL who are colorblind, so they would also have been confused. ”
Janke is red-green colorblind and, when showed clips from the game, explained that the teams looked the same and that it was very hard to tell them apart.
It is still yet to be decided if this “Color Rush” will continue in the 2016 season. NFL is now looking into possible changes and ideas that will allow the “Color Rush” to work.
“I think they’re on to something very good about having very different colors, because if they do red and green like that, people like me see it as almost the exact same colors,” Janke said. “So, I think if they move forward using prominently different colors then that would be better or getting rid of the concept all together.”
This week’s “Color Rush” game is between the Dallas Cowboys and the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers are shown wearing their all blue jerseys while the Cowboys will be in all white ones. The game will be on Thursday, Nov. 26 in Arlington, Texas at the AT&T Stadium.
There will also be one more “Color Rush” game in Week 13 when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play the St. Louis Rams.