Unfortunately I have a new job for which I work every single weekend in the fall. I figure there has to be a number of people out there with a similar problem. How do you all keep up with the greatest team and sport on earth? I have a dvr so i can record games and watch them the night of. I also minimally use social media so i can avoiding hearing details of the games until i watch them if that's the strategy I plan to employ. My question is, are the games nearly as interesting if you know the outcome has already been devided? I enjoy rewatching some of the great games Ive already seen, but that seems different. Any advice on how to best enjoy my beloved team without the avilability of a traditional gameday setup would be most appreciated.
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I always seemed to find a way to watch them as much as I could because I couldnt resist. Watch ESPN becomes your greatest friend. And if that is unavailable I turn to the radio broadcasts.
The tough part is not being able shout with your friends.
Watch the game in the evening when you can, before you talk your friends.
Depending on your work, maybe developing a routine of listening to the game on the radio.
I had to do that for a few years.
It'll be tough not hearing Bill's voice on the radio this year. Separate topic, but still....
Very true. Didn't even think about it.
Yeah I'd try to keep up with the game via ESPN app or listen to it on the radio. Even when you don't know the outcome, watching taped sports loses something.
Several games a year I would be in a swing shift (about 2:30). I could watch about an hour of a nooner and listen on XM going to work...but if the outcome of the second half was poor, many times I just couldn't bring myself to turn on the DVR that night or the next day. I don't know if I ever watched the Miami game from las year. Or did I and I've blocked it from my memory? I don't think I ever watched.
I work rotating shifts, so I get to see some but I have to work through others. If I couldn't watch any of the games live I'd be pretty upset, but I tend to check updates on the score throughout. It is not easy these days to keep the outcome of a game secret (even living in Ohio, enough people know I'm a VT fan and I've been surprised more than once when I used to try and not know the outcome.)
I don't find it worth the effort to not be surprised by the results. Phreak's ~10 minute highlight reels were about all I could take in after the game once I had the final score. I hope we have something available to show condensed versions of any games I'll be working this year.
My sister's husband works rotating shifts as a staunch UVA fan and remains adamantly opposed to being surprised about the outcome of their games. What a masochist.
I'm pretty sure I could tell you the W/L outcome of their games just by looking at their schedule before the season even starts...
just at quick glance I could see LOLUVA finishing in the neighborhood of 3-9 with wins over B&M, 'Cuse, and probably Miami because for whatever reason LOLUVA beats them when they really have no business doing so
The ONLY way a LOLUVA fan is surprised about the score of their games is if (and it admittedly is very infrequent) they actually win.
We just watch the games at the firehouse, wait I mean we train and run calls all shift.
No fires allowed during games!
He tried being a WVU fan, but was always on a call.
/s
Yea, but you can see the game on the other TVs in the parking lot.
I traded, begged and did everything I could to get off the medic units for the game hours. Every medic call with a transport is a minimum of an hour away from the firehouse.
Sounds like i should switch from law enforcement to fire
When I was a deputy o just worked mid nights.
When I first moved to Russia I tried to watch a replay of the games the next morning (games range from 10pm here to 6am) and I found myself just fast forwarding through most of the game because I was more interested in the outcome at that point. Now I just bite the bullet and either stay awake for it or wake up early. I am in the minority on this but I always pray for noon games because that is Saturday night prime time for me.
Is it bad that I instantly pictured you with a rosary praying to St. Weaver, patron of noon games? Am I going to hell now?
I recommend DVRing the games, leaving your cell phone at home, and wearing UVA gear to work. UVA fan gear is designed to absorb all football talk and convert it to an undeserved sense of accomplishment and self-worth. It will also prevent you from making friends that might accidentally tell you football scores. This way you can't find out the score even if you go through hokie-withdrawl.
I can't endorse this. Unless you have a high tolerance for embarassment and skin rashes. And a big supply of calamine lotion.
Radio broadcast, or play by play on espn.com or app, or watch espn app.
To me, the only time watching the game is exciting when you already know the outcome, is when it was a win and a good game. Much like I've watched the Ohio State game at least twice after the original watching of it.
I've watched the Ohio State game at least twice myself.
Twice a week, that is.
Lucky enough to work in the sports industry, so there is literally a TV in every cubicle on Saturdays/Sundays. West coast time, so I actually really like the noon (ET) kickoffs. Gives me a little breakfast football.
So, so jealous.
eh......I've had a couple of business trips to the west coast. It was weird to have almost all the games over before I finished my dinner.
It's not optimal not to be able to watch it live, but DVR is the next best thing.
I've done it, and it does work, but you have to be careful to avoid TV or radio that loves to tell scores only when you don't want to hear them...
What line of work are you in? Does it allow using the watch espn app or monitoring the game with your phone? Being weekend work, I assume it's not sitting at a desk. So let's assume you can't "monitor" the game while working....
DVR it and use the time to unplug from the world of social media and smart phones. Or you know, work. I know I've missed a few games in the smart phone era and social media will spoil everything, as will sports apps and their alerts. When I was in college I worked a lot of Saturdays at an independent retail store so I would just put the game on the radio in the store. Without that, the loss of Bill Roth wouldn't have hit me as hard, but for my entire college career I listened to Bill Roth call the games I couldn't be at.
I record it, and watch the game when I can though an App. If we lose I delete the game. If not, my friend (who does the same thing a lot due to his kids sports) and I get together and watch it. Its never as good as watching live, which is never as good as being at the game, but I don't usually have to suffer from a drink to forget the game hang-over either, ad ,makes the ones I can go to a little more special.
Advice: QUIT
This.
You still have a month to land a job that doesn't require working on game day!
I know that I'm in the minority, but if I'm not in the stadium I actually prefer to DVR the game and start 90-120 minutes in. That way I can zip through commercials and halftime and have the ability to FF right to the end if things go totally to shit. I've never felt like I enjoyed it any less just because I'm watching on a delay; if anything it has improved my TV experience because I don't have to sit through so much crap.
I've done that as well, but that's still catching the end in real time.
only issue is making sure to record the whole hour after the game has ended. So many ACC broadcasts/recordings that finished with 5 minutes left in the game because they couldn't timing right...
if we have any acc network games this year i'll probably listen to it on radio instead.