History had been made. Those who failed to understand the difference between athleticism, technical ability and having the full set of tools required to be the greatest quarterback of all time had never looked more foolish.

They thought it was all over… and it probably was, so the bloke in charge of the confetti pulled the string.

That, at least, is how one of those in the commentary box saw it and it certainly looked as if some of the participants were still looking up at screens waiting for confirmation that James White had got the ball across the plane of the goal-line before his knee touched the playing surface.

Could it have influenced the outcome? We all know tight decisions can change games, but try finding an Atlanta Falcons fan who, at that moment, would have doubted that Tom Brady would have found a way to ensure his New England Patriots acquired that extra couple of millimetres, having already masterminded what had looked impossible in bringing them back from 28-3 down to take the Superbowl into overtime during which he had marched them all the way down the pitch again.

Whether or not an official signal had been given, the mere notion that the confetti man had even more influence on the final outcome than the Wembley crowd in 1966 was amusing given the lengths American Football has gone to in bidding to ensure that any potential for dispute over decisions is minimised.

The sport’s use of technology is exemplary, maximising the safeguards against legitimate outrage through a combination of man-power in the number of officials afield and technological support, while shifting the onus onto the management of the respective teams by giving them flags that they can throw in what they consider to be emergency situations.

Yet even with all of that what was being suggested that there was still scope for good old human error.

None of which excuses football referees who think have acquired X-ray vision or, at the other end of the optical scale, suffer from temporary colour blindness when trying to work out whether players have been tripped up by friend or foe.

It takes a certain strength of character to be a referee in any sport, but there are times when that whistle can become the sporting equivalent of putting a yellow jacket bearing the message ‘Here to Help,’ onto the back of someone who has previously struggled to have much in the way of influence on the world.

The introduction of video technology in football beyond whether or not the ball has crossed the line, is consequently long overdue and has the potential, if properly implemented, to transform the environment in which the sport is played.

The single most important thing is that, as happens in cricket as well as in football, there is a device to place at least part of the onus on the participants by giving them a limited number of opportunities to challenge decisions because that is what does most to divert the hostility from match officials.

Which brings us to what had looked like a contender to last to the end of 2017 as the greatest sports story of the year until it was upstaged all of seven days later, when Brady’s tennis playing equivalent produced that sport’s greatest ever comeback in extending his record haul of Grand Slam wins five years after his previous success, with some vital help from technology.

As much as it was for the man himself, Roger Federer’s Australian Open win was a triumph for those who had held their nerve in the face of his opposition to it when he was dominating the game a decade earlier.

What greater vindication could they possibly have had than the man who had once refused to use ‘Hawkeye’ appeals and had claimed the system was killing him, should have benefited as he did from its use in the closing moments of his all our yesterday’s meeting with Rafael Nadal, prompting him to comment: “That’s why we got the Hawk-Eye, the challenge system is there. I’m happy it didn’t disappoint me.”

He had won the final point only after the failure of Nadal’s challenge, when his decisive winner was called in but rather more telling was that moments earlier, when his second serve was called out with the match at deuce, Federer had challenged, been proved right and duly earned his match point with an ace.

As in other sports the use of technology in tennis has definitely been instrumental in reducing obvious errors and, in turn, has resulted in more respectful treatment of officials.

Well it had until another of Sunday’s sporting encounters when callow Canadian Dennis Shapovalov got a bit too frustrated with himself and let fly to end his team’s Davis Cup tie with Great Britain by hitting the umpire flush in the face with the ball when letting rip with his frustration.

Ah yes, the use of technology can cure many ills, but there will always still be room for human error.