Like millions of football fans across the country, I do not have the NFL Network because, well, I don't know why. This, of course, means that when the league schedules these Thursday night specials shown exclusively on the NFL Network (exceptions of course are the two local markets featured in the game) I am stuck without football. I don't like it when there's football being played, and I can't see it. Especially when it's a rather big game. Having said that, NFL.com offers a feature that provides live look-in's of the action, as well as studio analysis and commentary on ... football related stuff, I imagine. Tonight, I'll be taking one for the team and following the Patriots-Jets game with this feature, and passing along all the wonderful fun that comes with it.
Enjoy.
8:32 -- We're 32 minutes into this experiment and already I want to throw my computer against the wall. At 8:00 I clicked on the "watch now" tab and instantly my computer slowed to a crawl. I had to download the newest version of adobe viewer which took a couple of minutes. Once it loaded, my computer seemingly stopped functioning. It's not like I'm using one of the original Apple computers you played Oregon trail on in Elementary school. This computer is fairly new, not even a year old, and runs smoothly. Until now. I've already rebooted twice and I still haven't seen a play. I heard voices talking and they said Dustin Keller caught a pass inside the New England 20. I have no idea what it looked like. It could have been a one-handed circus catch, it could have been a bullet from Brett Favre, it could have been caught by Keller while he was in his underwear wearing a birthday party hat. I have no idea. I had to close the viewer just so I could type this update. I'm going to need more to drink.
8:42 -- Okay, we're in, I think, but my computer is still moving about as fast as Tony Siragusa in the Sahara carrying a piano on his back. Apparently the Jets are winning 7-0, though, I have no idea how. Did Al Toon catch a pass from Ken O'Brien? I HAVE NO IDEA! The Patriots, apparently, just kicked a field goal.
8:49 -- I've now resorted to writing down my observations on paper because I can't type on my computer. I've closed all other functions on the computer and have nothing but the NFL.com viewer up and it's still taking forever. I have two screens within the viewer: a larger screen that is showing highlights of the week two Patriots-Jets game, and a smaller screen that is following Brett Favre around the field. He's currently standing on the sidelines. The video and sound are both choppy. Extremely choppy.
8:53 -- This is a travesty. Closing my current browser and trying a new one. Maybe a fresh start will help. Still seeing highlights of the week two game. I saw the week two game as it happened and, frankly, it sucked, there weren't this many highlights.
8:57 -- I'm now seeing live video of a guy talking who, according to the screen, is named "Randy Moss." Either it's a guy that shares the same name as the Patriots wide receiver, or the Patriots wide receiver of the same name has taken the night off and used some sort of contraption to turn himself into a balding, middle-aged white guy who wears a really bad sport coat. Video remains choppy.
9:00 -- I'm now seeing a woman on the sidelines talking. I didn't catch her name, and I'm not exactly sure what she's talking about. As she's talking about ... something ... one of the three guys in the studio can be heard coughing, and coughing loudly. He doesn't even bother to say 'excuse me,' which is good, because even if he did say it I wouldn't excuse him because this is a horrible, horrible way to experience an NFL game.
9:10 -- Now we're back to the three guys talking in the studio. I still haven't caught their names. Apparently this game is in the second quarter. I had no idea the first quarter ended. If I'm understanding correctly, they've just returned to live action and I'm hearing a voice that is telling me that Leon Washington of the Jets has scored on a 92-yard kickoff return, though the video currently on the screen is more highlights of the week two game. Seriously. I need more booze. Now we're back to the studio. I think it's 17-6 Jets, though, it could just as easily be 46-2 Bears.
9:20 -- I quit because I, quite simply, can't take it anymore.
Conclusion:
Is it a suitable replacement for NFL Network? Absolutely, positively, 140% not. The NFL should be embarrassed. Not only is the quality awful, but it slows your computer down to such a snails pace that it is virtually impossible to have even one other function open on your computer. Even when it's the only function open, it's still terrible.
My suggestions for fans that don't have NFL Network and wish to see these games:
1. Go to a local sports bar that carries the NFL Network. This should be just about all of them. This should also be your best course of action.
2. Write angry letters to Roger Goodell until these games are no longer televised on the NFL Network until more than a small fraction of the country can get the games from the comfort of their own homes.
3. Give up on the NFL and become a hockey fan.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-13-2008 @ 10:21PM
John C. said...
i believe the NFL should open its eyes.. it is taking an American sport away from the fans.. with the NFL games not being televised on free Telvision..a special game of the week is just as Monday night football was iin its origination..we all watched it at home and pout on the town,,,
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11-13-2008 @ 10:38PM
hmbp said...
I haven't had any issues at all. but then again, I'm on my university's network, which is incredibly fast. Regardless, the NFL Network has done nothing but distance the NFL from its fans.
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11-13-2008 @ 10:43PM
no said...
It's like if the mafia owned the nfl, you want football, well like what you give you. Lame.
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11-13-2008 @ 10:55PM
Stahi said...
Yeah, it's f'ing annoying as they're constantly talking in-studio or talking to side-line reporters WHILE action is going on in the background. After the Patriots scored and it went up to 24-21, they were in the studio while the ensuing kickoff was going on, then was talking to that sideline reporter while they were huddling up.
...Then went to commercial. I had to go to Gamecenter to see what the Jets were doing in the drive.
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11-13-2008 @ 11:06PM
mike said...
will they be doing this on sunday afternoons,monday nights?
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11-13-2008 @ 11:19PM
Andrew said...
the NFL.com feed is truly bad... I mean last week, they were talking about Brady Quinn every other minute... sucking his jock... proclaiming him as the new sliced bread... and all this while the game was actually going on and you really had no idea what had happened...
I was also wondering what was going to happen this week when Randy Moss the sideline reporter was going to be on the same field with that other Randy Moss...
With that being said, they are 2 notches about the "Boom Goes the Dynamite" guy...
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11-14-2008 @ 9:23AM
David Walker said...
The NFL is starting to act like a monopoly and this poor excuse for coverage is laughable. They spent more time in the studio than broadcasting the game. I think the government needs to get involved.
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11-14-2008 @ 9:23AM
ginat fan since 57 said...
This is maddness. Does the NFL think we would rather listen to commentators than actually watch the game?
At least when Fox first got games years ago and they didn't have enough statins to cover the nation they made deals with local channels to broadcast the games.
Roger Goodel, you are an idiot! It's not the cable companies who are responsible for getting your product to market, it's you! Find a way, a**hole! Didn't you learn anything from the Giants/Patriots fiaxco last year?
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11-14-2008 @ 9:24AM
Elsquare said...
The 'look in' feature is OK with me. The professional football world would be a better place to live, work and raise one's children if the NFL Network and its attachments went straight to the place where all Evil resides; but, since that will not happen, please just put NFL.com back to its exact format of 60 months ago. Add only the 'look in' feature. Having done this, please just LEAVE NFL.COM ALONE! Regardless of what the politicians tell us, CHANGE does NOT necessarily mean PROGRESS. NFL.COM was not broken, why in Hades did you mess with it? The answer, of course is $$$. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!!!
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11-14-2008 @ 9:24AM
E said...
I'd rather watch the NFL Network than Keith Olberwoman.
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11-14-2008 @ 9:25AM
uatgsports said...
We canucks are lucky. In Canada we get more NHL hockey games than we can handle and Thursday night NFL Network games are simulcast on TSN (the Canadian ESPN) which is basic cable.
The general notion that some Live Look-in is a suitable replacement for the actual game is absurd. The conclusion--become a hockey fan--is a valid suggestion.
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11-14-2008 @ 9:35AM
etnpnys said...
Wow... Your experience really sucked. Too bad this isn't a tech support forum, in which case I would suggest that you eliminate extraneous programs that run in the background and try IE7 or Firefox 3 - among other things to do.
As far as my experience goes, I watched the first quarter from work (don't tell anybody) on a connection that is capped at 1Mb per node - it was somewhat choppy and every minute or so it would skip a second or two to catch up to itself. My computer didn't even know it was doing anything different, as I was able to continue working with my 5+ other programs running also. When I got home (unfortunately, traffic sucked - so I missed the 2nd, 3rd, and all but 2:00 of the 4th quarters) I went to the website and was able to watch it on my faster 5Mb connection with almost no chop at all - all the way through the Jets kicking the stupid field goal.
Personally, I never actually TRIED any of the features other than the main viewing window. ...But I *did* start watching a little early and heard them doing sound checks before the video actually started. Out of 5 stars, I would give this first attempt at streaming live TV a 3.5. It worked well for me, but the quality could be improved (see Hulu.com) and the occasional skip can be eliminated.
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11-14-2008 @ 11:04AM
paul said...
Sorry your experience was so bad, but I swung over to nfl.com in the 4Q expecting some sort of live web-page update. Instead, I found a streaming NFL Network feed, free of commercials and as smooth as any other streaming video (home fiber optic connection).
If you don't like the studio guys nattering, don't listen to them. Click away. I was able to full-screen my video of just the game, and turn my laptop (with other programs open) into a television free of "Saaaaaved byyyyy zeeeeeeroooooh."
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11-14-2008 @ 12:20PM
Stan Masterson said...
worked great for me. certainly not a replacement, but better than nothing. Is it the cable companies or the NFL's fault that NFL Network isn't everywhere like you would think it would be?
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11-14-2008 @ 12:27PM
Nor Cal Skin said...
NFL Network is meant to be a regular channel for every provider but a lot of the cable companies charge for it. http://iwantnflnetwork.com/
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11-15-2008 @ 11:47AM
sa said...
whats the nfl streamcast have to do with politics? why dont you try reading a little more than just skimming the headline buddy.
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11-28-2008 @ 2:41PM
Dave said...
The whole thing is a joke. Why not stream the entire game like NBC does? It's like they're having fun with the fans. I can just hear them..."First lets create channel that very few people will have access to. Once that riles them up for a while lets stream the games online but only show portions of live action." I think I like the idea of switching to hockey.
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