If I Was A Guy Who Wanted To Watch Hockey, How Would I Go About Doing This
A Brief TV History Lesson:
I’m about to type something, and I don’t think anyone is going to believe me. About 20 years ago, if you wanted to watch an out of market game, you were basically SOL. “But why didn’t you just go on the internet and watch the game on an illegal Justin TV feed? “ Well, that would be because, you may want to sit down for this one, there was NO INTERNET. “Ok, so why didn’t you just go down to the local bar and watch the game on Sunday Ticket?” Again, you aren’t gonna believe me but, there was no Sunday Ticket back then either!
It Once Was Terrible To Like An Out Of Market Team:
My dad, a Redskins fan living in New Jersey, would drive from bar to bar in a 45 minute radius HOPING that maybe, a bar might have some satellite feed of the Redskins. From my memory, we always drove around and never watched a game.
Even 10 years ago, when I was a Raiders fan, many bars didn’t have any other games besides local ones. I used to watch 1 Raiders game per year and 16 Redskins games. It turned me into a Redskins fan. Can you imagine not being able to watch EVERY game from your favorite NFL team today? (Oh yeah, hockey blog, not football blog)
Thanks For That, It Ain’t That Way Anymore:
Thankfully today, technology has improved and leagues & cable companies have figured out that making it possible to watch all of your team’s out of market games is a gold mine. Bars are forced to have sports packages and decent TVs if they want customers, which is pretty much the greatest thing ever. Which brings me to the situation at hand.
I’m Going Out Of Town, But Want To Watch The Caps Game Saturday Night:
This weekend I will be in Chapel Hill, North Carolina for Halloween. That is clearly Carolina Hurricanes territory and therefore not Washington Capitals territory. So how do I watch the Caps? I know that bars carry sports packages. I’ve seen this with the NFL, NCAA, and MLB. I never needed to utilize those packages for the NHL or NBA, so I’m not exactly sure if that is something that any old bar would carry.
And even if the bar did have the NHL package, how would I go about getting the Caps game on TV. Honestly I would be super embarrassed to ask them to change a TV from any other sport to hockey. I feel like even in DC if someone asks to change a college basketball game TV to the Caps they get dirty looks. Now that I’m a bigger fan, I would do it, but some part of me would feel odd. (Being honest, maybe as the season goes on this will disappear)
I could also watch the game on an illegal feed, but I don’t do that because that is illegal, immoral, irreprehensible, etc. So Don’t DM Me on Twitter with any links @TheDugsMusic.
Questions:
- Will a bar carry an NHL package
- Will the bartender change the TV on a Saturday night for the game?
- Does anyone else feel skiddish about asking a bartender to put hockey on (especially an out of market game)
- Will I even be sober by gametime, and are these questions irrelevant?
1 comment:
1) Most bars probably won't have an NHL package. The only one we have up here is Boston's Gourmet Pizza Sports Bar and Restaurant. It is a franchise restaurant that after a quick search does not reside in NC. Maybe a quick Louggle of sports bars could give you a better result.
2) Saturday night in a bar...you'll be lucky if they can hear you. You are in luck that the Canes play before the Caps so if the bar does play hockey you won't have a conflict.
3) Never be skiddish bout your cravings for your team and wanting to see them on the tele.
4) Probably not...you may even have a nagging feeling about the game but not remember what exactly it is you wanted to do at 10 pm on a Saturday night.
PS...they do make very affordable legal streaming sites for hockey...however they often require a 12 step plan after a few weeks
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