(Editor's Note: This is Part 1 of a 3-part series sponsored by Samsung where we will be discussing the synergy (and as Jack Donaghy taught us, NEVER badmouth synergy) between sports and technology, and how they have changed our lives as fans)
There's a lot of technology involving not just football, but all sports that we watch, that we've begun to take for granted as we move towards the next decade. Just 10 years ago, HD didn't exist and we were watching the game on a TV that most of us would surely scoff at now. Seriously though, how upset do you get when you want to watch a game and it IS NOT in HD. I feel like throwing the TV through a window.
While that's a major enhancement that has become the norm - another aspect of watching your favorite team play rings a little bit louder in my mind: LIVE STREAMING!
The emergence of this wonderful concept has allowed fans all of the world to watch there favorite team play, even if they are out-of-market domestically, or even out of the country. Now, even rooting for an FCS program such as Villanova, it's very hard for me to miss a game.
More on the emergence of live streaming and what it has meant to the sports world after The Jump.
I'm sure you've all been there before -- you look at the TV schedule for that day, search for your team, panic begins to set in, and finally depression when you realize you are going to be endlessly refreshing GameTracker while you scream at your computer about why it's been 7 minutes since the last play was shown.
In this day and age, this problem has become a rarity, not the norm. Sites such as Justin.TV and Channelsurfing.net have allowed sports fans to watch virtually anything, as long as there is a camera in the stadium. This is a frequent problem for Villanova football as until the FCS Playoffs, we're pretty much restricted to local coverage.
And even with a Top-10 basketball program, we find ourselves on obscure channels that our cable providers don't give us access to. But with the addition of live streaming to our sports-fandom repertoire, we'll almost assuredly be able to watch the game.
Even better -- wireless aircards have allowed those of us privelidged enough to get them free from our employer own them can relax when we're on a 65-minute train-ride-to-hell - and not scream at the conductors like a crazed lunatic to get going so you can catch the opening 5 minutes of the 'Nova-Bucknell basketball game.
So while the picture my not be as clear as your Samsung HDTV (NO OTHER TV BRANDS COMPARE!), it's better than the alternative of relying on the entry-level ESPN employee to update you correctly/promptly as you contemplate lighting your hair on fire.