Fans will call plays for both Salt Lake and Colorado on Friday. Here's how it will work.
In a landmark moment for Project FANchise, which puts fans in charge of making decisions for its professional sports teams, both the Salt Lake Screaming Eagles and the Colorado Crush will have their fans call the plays during Friday's game between the two sides.
Both squads are owned by Project FANchise, and the game will be the first professional football game in which both teams' offensive plays will be dictated by fans.
Salt Lake's fans have called plays for the entirety of this season, but Friday marks Colorado's first game with fan play-calling. And for the rest of the season, Colorado's offensive play-calling will be controlled by fans.
So, how will it work Friday? And how can fans get involved?
The game will be streamed and hosted by video platform and gaming interface Twitch. Fans will be able to call plays on Twitch or through the Play IFL app (formerly the Screaming Eagles app).
If fans elect to use the app, they will pick a team to call the plays for, and will lock into that team for the remainder of the season. If they use Twitch, they will get to sample play-calling for five plays and then will have to register and pick a team.
How the first fan-run football team was born
Fans will pick between four options—weighted based on game-planning from coaches—on first and second down. On third down, fans will choose between a run, a pass or the coach's call. And on fourth, the options will be pass, run and kick.
Defensive play selection will remain in the hands of the two coaching staffs.
You can live stream the game on SI.com. Tune in to witness history.
