Limiting Football On TV: Or Being Cheap With the Programing

 

The High Cost of Too Much TV: Learn to Say No

 I missed the Bears game last week. I followed the game on one of those YouTube channels where a fan tells you what’s going on in the game in real time. It’s not as good as watching the game, but it’s at least a real time broadcast. I don’t think I can even listen on the radio for free anymore. The last time I tried it I had to log in or sign up or get some app. Whatever the requirements were, I didn’t want to mess with it. As for the NFL ticket or game package on TV, I’m not about to shell out that much. I’m pretty sure it’s around $500 to see every game. I’m a fan, but not that much.

Football and TV

Even my brother only gets the red zone. He can certainly afford to buy the full package, but he won’t fork over that much either. I might be exaggerating the price a little, but I’m sure it’s in the $500 range. While at work earlier this summer, I talked with my coworker about the package. Despite his lifelong interest in the Denver Broncos, he refused to pay it as well. YouTube might have overshot the interest in the plan. Then again, I don’t know how much they bought it for. At least I have Prime. I can see all the Thursday games and one black Friday game every year. This year the Bears played the Eagles on black Friday.

I’d rather the NFL got rid of the Thursday games. At least with black Friday it’s only one week per year they do a Friday game. The teams don’t get the full rest they need on Thursday and it shows. It’s usually the sloppiest game you’ll see all year.

I can’t back this up with any kind of data, it’s a ‘feel thing’. Sloppy play means a lot of false starts and poor routes, missed tackles and on-field fights. If your team looks out of sink it’s probably a Thursday game. More Bears games would be nice, but I can’t justify the high price of the TV package. Anyway I don’t have YouTube premium or whatever they call it. The MLB network package worked out well for me this year. At the beginning of the season it was around $150 for the year. I didn’t get every Cubs game but probably around 75% of them. But I didn’t buy the package until May, which means I missed a whole month. By then it was only $60 through Prime. I used that month to find out if the Cubs would be worth watching 3 nights a week. They were. This upcoming year I’ll get the package again, but I’m not sure if buying through Prime is the same thing as just buying through MLB network.

Can’t imagine it’s any different but I never checked it out.

Reading and No TV

Sports are basically the only thing I’ll pay for. Prime is the only streaming service I have. It’s the crappiest one as far as shows and movies, but I’m not paying for Netflix or Hulu or Disney. You have to decide which one you want and forget the rest. TV shouldn’t be this expensive. It used to be free after all. Just adjust the rabbit ears on the top of the screen and hope it doesn’t short out on you. But then again, we do have a lot of options nowadays that didn’t exist before. And the vast number of shows and films made every year is staggering. But at some point, you can’t watch everything. You need to be choosy for the sake of your mental health if nothing else.

Free time can make people lazy. I’m certainly in this camp, but I’m trying to make better choices with my time. Books are better for your brain than movies. I don’t have a study to reference but it’s obvious right? There is something about reading that inspires writing too. I’ve noticed this while reading. It’s like there is some section of the brain where reading and writing thrive and even work on the same frequency. TV has a way of turning off some creative part of your brain. As much as I like sports, I’m more selective with how many games I watch per Sunday. Bears weren’t on today in my area. I turned it off. Not like I didn’t want to watch football either. But if I watched an early game, I’d probably watch a later game. And then I’d watch some of the Sunday night game, while talking on the phone to my cousin. On a warmer day I’d be outside raking leaves and being productive.

Conclusion

Circling back to the NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube, the high cost almost ensures you’ll watch more football. When you pay a steep price for something you want to get the most out of it. I’d feel obligated to keep the channel on all day. That’s something I don’t need. For now I’ll watch what I can and read more books. This wasn’t meant to be New Year’s resolution post, but it’s sounding a lot like one. I guess that’s OK, we’re in the season for it. Merry Christmas and go Bears!