Time Travel to 1973
Posted by TFG on December 16th, 2006
Because I think that’s the last time I had to listen to a Cowboys game on a radio. Seems the NFL is making so much money and has more than enough fans, and they can afford to offer some games on their boutique network, which costs a lot of money for the providers, such as cable and satellite companies. Time-Warner Cable got into some kind of squabble with the NFL when they wanted to make it available only as an extra-cost option with a bunch of other sports networks like Speed, NBA, The Tennis Channel, and something called Bevo On Demand.* So, it’s not available at all to those customers. Which means I’m sitting here in San Antonio, listening to it on a staticky radio station, just as I might have in 1973.
I guess I could go to a topless bar or a Hooters, but eh, not interested in paying for overpriced booze. Nekkid chicks are a huge distraction, as well. A generally pleasant and mostly welcome distraction, of course, but a distraction none the less, when all you want to do is see a dang ball game. Hooters fills the bill, and their wings are of course a favorite food of ANY Fat Guy, but I know they’ll all be packed to gills with d-bags and the scourge of hard-core sports-watchers, families. If the game seems real close by the middle of the third quarter, I might have to unass my couch, pull on some pants, slap a hat on my head, and go watch the end somewhere, though.
* Illustrating the overall idiocy of Teasips, and the beauty of the greatest country on earth where you can pay for a special on-demand digital channel covering the sports feats of where you learned to do bong hits. Also illustrating why I’m going to satellite, which seems to be much more flexible in the pricing of their offerings, based on experience from the ranch.
UPDATE BEFORE I EVEN POSTED UPDATE: Well, there are five touchdowns scored before the end of the 2nd quarter, so I guess it’s off to a loud, hot, crowded, douchey sports bar somewhere. I hate this, not having friends around to watch the game with me — I far prefer being the douchebag leader my own self.
December 16th, 2006 at 9:50 pm
I sit comfortably in my lazy boy watching the game with the BoyGenius sitting on the couch, pizza and stromboli’s as far as the eye can see.
December 16th, 2006 at 10:50 pm
Time Warner in Houston doesn’t have the game either.
And since Jerruh and Texans owner Bob McNair struck a deal a while back for the Cowboys Radio Network NOT to be on a Houston station (ol’ Bob’s team continues to sucketh, and really can’t handle a little competition), I’ve had to scour the web for someone streaming the game (illegally). I can’t believe marketing genius Jerruh hasn’t figured out that people will pay to stream the Cowboys, but there ya go.
Anyway, thank goodness for Brad Sham online via a station that doesn’t know any better.
What a ridiculous state of affairs.
December 16th, 2006 at 11:12 pm
Is there anything more disgusting than Bryant Gumbel posing as a play-by-play announcer? And yes, there is, when Chris Collinsworth is the color commentary guy.
If I didn’t get NFLnet on DirecTV already, I couldn’t make such sage observations.
I am familiar with being deprived of my home team; in that situation, my analysis became far less critical.
I still remember when football was just a game.
-k-
December 16th, 2006 at 11:45 pm
I was a little, or more precisely, a lot, in my cups when the above was written. Still am, for that matter. But NFLnet is gonna shut out a lot of loyal fans, just because of trying to make a buck. The NFLnet live announcers leave much to be desired, but they’re better than no coverage at all. Maybe.
-k-
December 17th, 2006 at 10:29 am
Scott:
Satellite is great. We’ve had ours 8 years or so; I’d wanted it for a long time, but the CFO had always looked down her nose at the notion. Cable always made a big deal of “you can’t get your local stations on satellite”, which at the time was true.
To make a long story short, the CFO was halfway through the last episode of a six-part miniseries on a local station, when the cable went out, only to come back after the not-to-be-rebroadcast show was over. She asked me “you still want that satellite dish?” There are still skid marks in the driveway from when I peeled out to Best Buy to bring the dish home.
-k-
December 17th, 2006 at 11:36 am
I had satellite at the ranch, so I’m familiar with it. I definitely liked it better than cable simply for the program guide - putting all the movies in one block, being able to look at all sports on right now, etc.. I don’t think it was terribly cheaper than cable, though, but it does seem to be run better, as a business, than the CableCos. Really, I hate putting money into any of their pockets, but I simply have to have my sports, and it’s nice to have the movies-on-demand thingy for the occasional non-sports zone-out session (usually involving lots of guns & bombs & bimbos).
Also, it was the thought of forced listening to Bryant Gumbel that kept my ass firmly on the couch last night. I can’t stand that preening, self-righteous toad. He’s right up there with Joe Theisman in the Broadcasters I Can’t Stand dept. Oddly enough, I’ve heard Joe a lot on sports radio and actually like him — when he’s not being Broadcaster Man, he’s a genuine regualar dude, which you’d expect from a Penna boy.
December 18th, 2006 at 11:36 am
I had the radio on listening to the boys next to the fire at the lease as my steak cooked and the Cowboys won.It was a good saturday night.I like the radio Brad Sham and Charlie Waters and some sideline chick.The radio is even better for baseball.
December 20th, 2006 at 12:59 pm
That’s funny, Teddy, in that I clicked in to say that I still like to sit in the backyard with a cigar, a tub of beer, and an AM radio and listen to baseball sometimes. And I’m not that fond of baseball, but AM radio is one of the best ways.