College Football TV Entering the Third Dimension

ESPN announces today that it will broadcast the Sept. 12 college football showdown between Ohio State and the University of Southern California in 3D. Josh Levin must be thrilled. Are you ready for some 3-D football?

If you're excited to see two powerhouse programs battle on the three-dimensional gridiron then ... well, contain your excitement, because you're probably not going to be able to see the show. The Los Angeles Times reports that the game will only be broadcast in 3D in two LA locations, one theater in Columbus, Ohio, and one site in Hurst, Texas (huh?).

The LA Times reminds us of 3D sports' short and not-quite-illustrious history:

Last season the San Diego Chargers-Oakland Raiders game was broadcast in 3-D in a limited number of cities and by invitation only, and the Fox broadcast of the Bowl Championship Series national championship game between Florida and Oklahoma was shown in 3-D in more than 100 theaters across the country.

If you're wondering why 3D TV isn't widely available for everything, including college sports, reality shows (Wipeout would be a blast) Law and Order reruns (as if anything could make Sam Waterson more electrifying), Levin does a great job of summing up the challenges in this Atlantic piece. In short, little is ready for mass market on the production side, and it's unclear whether Americans are ready to keep a pair of amber-and-blue glasses on the coffee table by the remote, or even upgrade to the Mitsubishi active shutter specks without looking like a nut.