| 24 September 2009
It's, as they say, officially official. Sunday's game between the Detroit Lions and Washington Redskins will be blacked out in SE MI.
“I think it’s safe to say at this point we will be blacked out this weekend,” Lions president Tom Lewand said about 45 minutes before today’s 72-hour NFL deadline to reach a sellout. That means the game will not be televised in local TV markets whose signals penetrate within 75 miles of the stadium: metro Detroit, Lansing, Saginaw/Flint and Toledo.
If you really want to watch/follow the game, you do have options. Some are more expensive than others, some are in a legal gray area, some just plain suck. But you can follow the game if you really want to. Here's 5 ways...
1. Buy a ticket. I wouldn't, but you might want to drop over a $100 per ticket (when you factor in gas, parking, beer, food, bail money, hotel room to crash in when your significant finds out you were arrested) to see the Lions lose their 20th in a row. If you are a masochist, enjoy yourself. Admittedly, if the Lions were any good at all, this would be a fun option. But it's still expensive as all Hell.
Going to the game can be a good time to catch up on your sleep...
2. Listen to the radio broadcast, but it does have drawbacks, starting with...you can't SEE the game. There's also the over the top homerism of Dan Miller, otherwise a solid play-by-play guy, which can become grating. When Detroit is driving late in a 35-0 blowout loss, Miller can make it sound as if the Lions are on the verge of a game winning TD. This is your only option if you decide to tackle your "Honey do" list while the Lions are playing.
3. Wait for the delayed web broadcast on NFL.com. Talk about the NFL throwing a moldy, maggot ridden, chewed up beyond recognition bone to the fans. Sure, you can catch the game, but you need a broadband web connection and a decently powerful PC to play it. Let's not forget the web stream won't be available 'til midnight Sunday. You'll have 72 hours to watch the game, though it won't be available while the Monday night game is being broadcast. So what's the point? Really, what's the f'n point?
Al Davis greeting Roger Goodell before a game...
Not that I advocate piracy, but if the NFL is going to continue with their asinine and archaic blackout policies, ignore the needs of the fans, and turn a blind eye to the economic crisis, we do have other options. If you have ethical or legal concerns, worried about being in the gray area of of both, then these aren't for you.
4. If you can wait a few hours after the game, and if you know where to go, you can find an HD quality torrent of the game, with ads and halftime edited out. This is a great option if you want the best quality, and it's even better if you want to rewatch the game in order to break it down. You'll need some space on your computer hard drive, as video takes up a fair amount of space. The download can take some time, depending upon your ISP speeds and the number of people sharing. You'll also need a media player like VLC or the KMplayer to view the video file, as you may not have the correct codec installed. (those 2 programs will play damn near any video, no matter what esoteric codec was used) If you aren't sure how to get started, Lifehacker has a beginner's tutorial, and here's a more in depth FAQ on the subject.
5. This is the option I use when I want to live blog a blacked out game. You can find web streams of every NFL game, but again, you need to know where to look. You'll also need a few different types of media handling software, depending upon the stream made available. Exactly what programs you'll need to download, along with tips and how to's, are available in the site forums at the place I told you to look. Not all streams need special software, as some are browser based (at self-broadcasting sites like JustinTV and Ustream). Unfortunately, what works great one week may not work the next, as they tend to get the banhammer once they are found out. Another good spot to find streams are the game threads for team and city focused sports forums. But there are caveats. No matter what kind of stream you dig up, a broadband connection is absolutely necessary, it'll be closer to YouTube than broadcast quality, it may run a few seconds to a few minutes behind real time, the stream could drop/end at anytime, and of course, there's the buffering...buffering...buffering... But it does work.
This is how we fans look in the eyes of the NFL...
You can thank Roger Goodell, the team owners, the TV networks and Congress (for the blackouts to end, Congress only needs to threaten the NFL's anti-trust exemption) for all the jumping through hoops just to watch a damn game. But it can be done.
Good luck with whatever option you take. Any questions, drop me a line or leave 'em in the comments.
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