Following the Huskies from afar: A Social Experiment
by Mike Breese on Oct 29, 2010 8:27 AM CDT
in Enhance Your Experience
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PrintThere's nothing better than being in Huskie Stadium on gameday. The tailgating, the camaraderie, the overall feel of excitement inside and around the stadium is something that's impossible to match. It was easy for me as a student to attend games. Heck, all you had to do was pick up the tickets at the convo free of charge and walk to the stadium on gameday.
Then one day all of a sudden you graduate and then you make a life decision to move somewhere else. Maybe you found an excellent job that required you to move or you just needed some sort of a life change.
As you may or may not know, I live in Austin, Texas now and I feel as though I do an adequate job on updating this blog for all you folks out there. Here are some of the technologies that help me do this and predictions for the future:
HDTVs and DVR
I can't ever catch a game when I'm over 1,000 miles away from Dekalb, but when you're out of town, nothing is better than catching the Huskies in crystal-clear HD on my television. So far this season, I have fortunately watched the Iowa State, Illinois and Minnesota games in high-def. It was so beautiful when they came on the field with their new jerseys, I just about shed a tear.
Then with the DVR, I can rewind and fast forward to see exactly what went right or wrong with a certain play. I feel just like an assistant coach when I'm going back and forth and grading out players for my game summary stories.
Online Broadcasting
Not every single Huskie game is going to be shown nationally on HD (one can only hope!), so for games like North Dakota, Akron and Buffalo you had to watch the game online through either NIUHuskies.com All-Access or All-MACcess. Now normally these things go smoothly, but the Akron feed didn't work so it was hard to follow the Huskies, but I managed streaming just the audio online.
Eventually it will be nice to see the Huskies on television every single week, but for right now this will have to do.
Smartphones
I literally can not imagine following sports now without a smartphone. You can have pretty much everything at your fingertips, scores, updates, radio feeds, access to social media, etc.
I can take my phone anywhere I go and be able to listen to the Huskie game on 670 the Score through a radio app that I have on there. If I don't have access to a computer, I'll go on RABA or Dog Pound and post about the game online through my phone. Or I can go on twitter and interact with other fans watching the game. It just seems crazy that these things are possible in this day and age.
Looking towards the future
Mobile Video
It's nice listening to the Huskies on my phone, but I think the next step down the road would be the ability to watch every NIU game on my mobile phone. I could be out and about away from any sort of cable and still be able to watch my Huskies on gameday. All-Access could add functionality or maybe come out with some sort of app to make this happen.
On-Demand
Imagine pulling up any NIU game that has been broadcast over the years and just watching it at your leisure. Or even from just this season. That's right, it would be the most amazing thing ever. I wouldn't mind watching this on my TV or my phone, but there's nothing sweeter than re-watching a Huskie victory over and over again.
What else do you want to see in terms of technology that would help you become a better Huskie fan?
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I’ve been in Miami for 25 years now, and always followed the Huskies, but prior to the internet and TV it was just the occasional newspaper article.
NIU should try to make sure that every home game is on Comcast; it is well worth the cost to the schol to have that type of exposure. Like you said, it’s always great to see the Huskies on TV, especially in HD. I was watching the Minnesota game (again) on the DVR.
Publicity, and winning games against OOC opponents will help put NIU on the map.
ESPN, by the way, has us in the top 10 mid-majors right now. We have to continue this; I don’t want NIU to be a one year wonder like Ball State was.
Agree about Comcast.
and I’d like to see them start broadcasting some away games as well. Some of the closer ones like Ball State or Western and Eastern Michigan should be doable. They just have to do it.
Plus, you can always just lock in to a local feed and send your announcers. That way, you dont’ even have to take camera and production equipment. It takes a little away from the flow and continuity of the broadcast, but it’s better than listening on the radio.
Life is tough, but it's tougher if you're stupid.
- John Wayne
Gameday
Nothing beats Huskie Stadium on gameday. when i walked into the stadium for the first time last year as a freshmen vs Western Illinois it was just a different feel. I have been to nfl game and still feel nothing is greater than an NIU game. all the fans together yelling red and black cheering on another huskies first down its great. I am only a sophomore and it is sad to think the day when i will be stuck in a predicament of not being able to attend or see the games so easily. hopefully NIU will get to a place where they are constantly on csn weekly.
ESPN3.com
In reading your post, I would also suggest that if your on Comcast, you can watch some of the games on ESPN3.com. I was able to watch a few games that way. Plus, you can rewind and go forward like a DVR. The only thing I do not like about ESPN3.com is this. You get a commecial here or there, but they leave the space in for them so you watch a stupid screen during the space where the commercial would be. Other then that, its great.
I live in Oregon, far away from NIU, so I do understand how you feel. There is also, (for me) a sports bar not too far from my house that will play all of the NIU games if they get the game on TV. (Direct TV with all of the sport packages.) That is also nice. I watch about 9 games a year here in OR, one way or another.
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