OT (Football): NFL RedZone is the way to go
by rhys on Dec 22, 2009 3:51 PM PST
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I consider myself an obsessive NFL fan. To point: once, when I discovered that a game I really wanted to watch would not be on TV at my house, (we didn't get NFL Network at the time) I successfully convinced my brother (doesn't like football) and friend (just got off work) to come with me to a sports bar in West Newton (Massachusetts) to watch just about 2 hours of the game. On a Thursday night. And the Packers (my team) lost, after all that.
The point here is this: I rarely let anything stand in front of my obsession.
You can imagine how shocked I was, therefore, to discover that I'd completely missed the best innovation to come to the NFL since instant replay. I'm speaking of the unspeakably awesome new NFL channel: NFL RedZone.
Whoo boy.
For those who haven't already heard, basically, NFL RedZone combines everything one could like about football, and takes away everything one could dislike. From 1-8 on every Sunday afternoon, NFL RedZone provides a 100% commercial free blast of distilled awesomeness.
Normally, the flow of watching an NFL game on TV can be tedious. For a game with only 60 minutes of clock, most games take over three hours. You've got to put up with endless commercials, penalties, long replay reviews, inane commentary, and Shannon Sharpe trying to speak the English language. It's not always pretty.
I know I sound like I'm on the payroll here, but the service really did blow me away.
I started my first NFL RedZone experience at 1 pm. sharp last Sunday. Energetic studio host Scott Hanson informed me that there were 6 games currently going on, and that I would be updated on each and every one of them thoroughly. It's whip-around style coverage that shows you every important or awesome play either live, or a few short seconds after its occurrence.
I saw Randy Moss tiptoe his way to a beautiful touchdown against the Bills live. Seconds later, I saw the incredible Browns return man Joshua Cribbs return a kickoff 100 yards for the TD, whirling and cutting his winding way. Also live. WOW.
Did I mention there are no commercials? That it's in crystal-clear HD? For seven straight hours?
Phil Taylor of Sports Illustrated wrote his column last week in praise of the channel, humorously noting that, "During his seven hours on the air he [Scott Hanson] gets only a two-minute bathroom break and, if he's lucky, a bite or two of a sandwich." Hanson aptly sets the stage before each switch, and one always knows what's going on in all the games currently on. The people behind this channel are intense and seriously pumped about it, and it shows.
This channel is carried by most cable providers in their basic package (it's channel 899 Hi-Def, for those of you who have Comcast), and actually has been around since Week 1 (September). I can't believe I missed it until now.
For the big fans out there, it's still no substitute for seeing the entirety of your team's game. I watched the Packers/Steelers game last weekend on boring 'ol FOX.
However, whenever a commercial came up, and for the entirety of halftime, you know where I was. 899 all the way.
As a whole, RedZone offers unequaled coverage, excitement and distillation of the NFL. It seems almost too good to be true, and I hope it's around for some time to come.
P.S. (Baseball Note) There is some suggestion that this could be the NFL's answer to MLB.tv, a service I know is popular with non-Californians here. The parallel is obviously not perfect, as with NFL RedZone there is a whole lot less flexibility and choice, and, also, RedZone costs nothing but your usual TV bill, whereas MLB.tv can run up to 120$/year. It's worth noting (again) that you really do get a good sense of what's going on in every game watching RedZone.
Comment Starter(s): Are services like RedZone and MLB.tv good for their respective leagues? Does this eliminate or lessen the need for illegal online streaming? How do you prefer to watch your sports?
This FanPost is reader-generated, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of McCovey Chronicles. If the author uses filler to achieve the minimum word requirement, a moderator may edit the FanPost for his or her own amusement.
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TiVo is the real answer
Commercials are the only thing that irritates me about live football games. Yeah, the announcers are generally dumb, but you can just turn the sound down.
RedZone to me is more of a glorified SportsCenter highlight reel. I’d rather watch the in-between stuff in games and just skip through commercials with the TiVo. You can learn a lot about a team by watching their stifled drives and the non-highlight plays.
STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.
I agree
I did note that I chose to watch the Packers game regular-style, because you can learn a lot about a team from their non-highlights.
I think it’s a little better than a SportsCenter, because they show stuff live or close to it, and also show more in total. I felt a little bit like a guilty ADHD football fan, but I got over that pretty quickly.
88-74 - Giants Series Record: 28-18-5, 19-7 at home.
Adopted Giant: Daryl "Dealio" Maday - Not reassigned after all. Still a mediocre AA pitcher.
And by the way...
WTF Packers??
Although, I must admit I think I’ll be rooting for them since the Niners are out, simply because I hope Aaron Rodgers can stick it to Favre & Co., LLP
STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.
by UnleashTheGore on Dec 22, 2009 4:21 PM PST up reply actions
My dad was a fan growing up in the 60’s when they were really good. I inherited it.
88-74 - Giants Series Record: 28-18-5, 19-7 at home.
Adopted Giant: Daryl "Dealio" Maday - Not reassigned after all. Still a mediocre AA pitcher.
I suppose that is acceptable.
STEVE HOLM! refuses to be the odd man out.
by UnleashTheGore on Dec 22, 2009 4:28 PM PST up reply actions
Every sunday
I sit on a couch from 12 to 11 and watch every single minute of football that’s on TV. That is what the NFL season is for. Sundays are holidays. Don’t feel guilty
Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, deserved all-star and hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs
by bondslegend on Dec 24, 2009 10:45 AM PST up reply actions
Right now, 899 isn’t showing up as a channel on the Comcast guide. Does it only appear to actually exist on Sundays?
Merry Christmas, McCoven. YOU DRINK YOUR DAMN EGGNOG
I have TWC and I think I"m out of the loop still. Meh, MLB extra innings is all I need.
"It's too late now."
incorrect
Baseball is the answer
Adopted brother of Jason Jarvis. To pass the time during the offseason I decided to try my hand at blogging about photography and music.
RedZone is awesome
When I signed up, they had a special running for $5/mo. so I signed up. IMHO, RedZone is better than NFL Ticket; you never have to change the freaking channel, they do it for you! The only exception is if you’re out of market for your favorite team and must watch every game.
F. the Lewis.
Mr. Merope was in that position. We got DirecTV so he could get Sunday ticket to watch his bungl err… I meant Bengals. Our next door “neighbor” however loves nothing better than to stack shit in front of our satellite dish. Two weeks ago he put up what we refer to as his “grow shed,” So despite paying out the ass for Sunday ticket… many’s the time we’re stuck watching justin.tv anyways. We’re going to drop DTV in January and just go with Comcast, at least until we move.
Just stream your team's game
and keep RZ on. That’s what I do anyways. I actually stream RZ too, since I don’t have anything other than local networks. Works great.
Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, deserved all-star and hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs
by bondslegend on Dec 24, 2009 10:44 AM PST up reply actions
Well get me a TV for Christmas, Rhys.
So my hermitlike existence can be blessed by exhibits like the Niners game last Monday.
"I don’t know why people feel the need to come up with reasons 'why' for everything..." - Missing Barry
by victor frankenstein on Dec 23, 2009 8:55 PM PST reply actions
It's the best invention in the history of television
I use it for every game other than the niner game. It’s less boring than watching a game live, you don’t have to sit through commercials, you just sit there for 6 straight hours and see EVERYTHING that’s going on. If you pair RZ with the games on your local affiliate and NFL.com, you never need to watch NFL highlights again, because you will have seen everything that’s highlight-worthy.
As for MLB.tv, I think it’s a huge help for the league. There’s no way I’d watch baseball nearly as much as I do if I couldn’t see the Giants every night.
Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, deserved all-star and hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs
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