If you are a sports fan like I am, the last thing you want to hear is that you can’t watch your favorite team in action. Well, that’s the dilemma that I face weekly during football season when I cannot watch my beloved Carolina Panthers play. Why? Several months back we cut the cord and dropped our television provider to save money. I will be honest, the monthly bill for dish or cable (we have had both) was just ridiculously expensive and I did not feel the need to pay that anymore and my family and I are not alone in this thought. Cord cutting is becoming increasingly popular as more and more internet based streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant Video continue to grow.
So, What About Watching The Games With An Antenna?
However, for cord cutting sports fans, this creates a problem. Without a television provider, how do we watch our games? Sure, you could get a rooftop antenna and pick up your local stations, that might work. But, in my case, I live in an area where my local Fox affiliate is unattainable, even with a rooftop antenna. The tower is just too far away. True NFL fans know that Fox holds the rights to broadcast all Sunday games that involve NFC teams playing against one another and NFC teams playing at an AFC team’s home. Well guess what? The Carolina Panthers are an NFC team, which means that 90-95% of their games will be broadcast on Fox.
Cord Cutting Sports Fans Can Stream All The Games Online, Right?
Now, you ask, what about streaming the games online? Here’s the real kicker. CBS, which carries the AFC teams and AFC teams playing at an NFC team’s home, has decided to stream their games online, including all the playoff games that they carry. NBC, which carries the Sunday Night Football games during the regular season and two of the playoff games, also streams their games. Fox, on the other hand, has decided to be stingy and not stream their games, unless you have a subscription from a very limited list of cable providers, none of which are offered in our area. How uncool is that? C’mon, Fox! Get with it! Just add some advertising, stream the games, and make some extra cash off of us cord cutting sports fans like the rest of the networks!
What About Game Rewind?
The NFL Network does offer a streaming service called Game Rewind, which streams the game thirty minutes after its over, but that is after the game is OVER and someone has already called me and told me what happened. That would be like watching a movie after already knowing the ending. It just ruins everything.
Tell Me “It’s Just A Game,” One More Time…
I know that a lot of you will say “It’s just a game” or “You can watch all the other games, can’t you be happy with that?” None of the other games involve my favorite team, therefore I don’t give a hoot about them, and the next person that tells me it is just a game just might get to eat my fist. Tasty. I have been a football fan ever since I was able to crawl, and giving it up would be like giving up your favorite food or drink. I would be miserable. I know I helped make the decision to cut the cord, but I am going through football withdrawal right about now, and I would like some suggestions as to how to watch the games, legally, and at the time of their broadcast, without paying for television service. Can anyone help a cord cutting sports fan out?
We cut the cord about a year ago, and my avid Eagles fan hubby has run into a similar issue. However, it isn’t as bad for him because we can usually get the game at the time it is on through antenna.
This year, he decided that he would rather see them on a TV that doesn’t fade in and out as the wind blows, so we have been watching all of the games at my parents’ house. My dad loves having us over so it works well.
As for watching it in your own home at the time it plays… I can’t help you… you may be SOL.
You’re right, he may be SOL. I think that most people in our family have cut the cord. However, there is always the sports bars.
Oh man, I have never really thought about anything like this. I think I would give up eating before I would give up my tv, so I don’t see myself having to cut the cord anytime soon.
My husband would never cut the cord. He is addicted to KU basketball.. Oh my gosh!
Not being a sports fan at all I don’t have a problem whether I cut a cord or not! However several of my past boyfriends would have vetoed that idea strenuously!!
I can’t stand football or any sports for that matter! But I definitely relate to the issues with having to cut the cord. I would go crazy without my tv!
We cut the cord two years ago and the only thing my husband misses is the football!
I love the information that you share here! We do not have TV, but my husband and son find their own creative ways to ensure they don’t miss their sports!
That is such a difficult thing to face. We cut the cord a long time ago when we moved with the Army to Germany. So when we got back to the US; we just never reconnected the cord. It was easier for us that way. But I still struggle with some of my favorite shows that don’t get streamed online. We also can’t pick up stations with an antenna. We are just too remote. It’s so frustrating. I think all TV should go the line of “ONLINE” and just do away with cable all together. lol.
We couldn’t pick up the TV with an antenna either. We tried two, but then we bought an Omnidirectional Digital Antenna and we are getting quite a few channels – more than what we should be getting for our area. 🙂 That might be something for you to look into.
We live rurally, so we don’t have the option to cut the cord, otherwise we would never know anything that’s going on in the world. That said, I thought I heard a rumor that Fox was going to start streaming?
Oh really! You mean live? I have to check into this. Thanks for the rumor – hope it’s true.
We have been thinking about cutting the cord, but just kept thinking there were a few things we might miss. NowI have something to think about!
not much of a sport fan and i’m out of my element when it comes to wireless things
Oh boy. This makes me pretty glad that my husband isn’t a big sports fan!
My husband would never do this, he has to have access to sports 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
I’m not a sports fan. I actually don’t like watching sports at all but hubby does. This is something that would certainly interest him. 🙂
Ek it sounds so confusing! I thought our TV was complex enough 😉 x
We are no big fan of sports (AT ALL) in our home. The only time I know what is going on in the sport world is when I go on facebook and my newsfeed and getting spammed with something related to sport.
I’m sorry but I have to say it, it’s just sports. Well, it’s off my chest, lol.
I could cut the cord just fine without missing cable or the satellite at all, if it weren’t for my husband. Having said that, his head may explode when he reads this comment. 😛
I can not help with this one, my husband is the sports fan. I am the one that is telling him to record it and watch it later – apparently that is on the list of bad things for a wife to do!
I could get along with sports for sure, but I do get people who have to have it.
Neither of my kids get cable either and seem totally fine with it. They use their TV’s for not much other than monitors for streaming. On the sports front though, I’m no help as I don’t watch and don’t know what’s what with that.
You know I have been contemplating on doing that but my husband won’t budge. He agreed to reduce our package though so that settles it (for now).
Cut the cord? nooooooooo I cant live without my football.!!! Or any sports for that matter. I think my husband would go for this, me? Hmmm No. lol
I think we pay way too much for our Direct TV package. But of course my husband has 5 TVs in one room just so he can watch all the games. Fat chance we will be getting rid of anything.
Hahahaha! That is someone who takes his sports seriously. I wonder if Jay would do that if we put 5 TVs in one room. Probably. lol..
This is one reason why I dont care to much for sports. 😀 I hardly ever watch tv. And when I do its netflix No way am I forking out $100+ for a tv provider! 😀
i can tell you if you plan to hit the restaurants to watch the games, it gets expensive. PLUs, there’s no guarantee your team will be shown where you are seated and it is hard to watch a full game and not pay for cable in that 4 hour period 🙂
You make some very good points. I think the main things would be that we generally go out to eat at least once on a weekend, so that isn’t really adding expense {thought it is cutting down on our options of where to eat}. I, also, definitely don’t want to sit in a restaurant for 4 hours, lol. We would have to go see only the end of the game.
Yeah, we definitely could never cut the cord because we’re a big sports family. We love hockey and football so this would be a tough one for us!
I don’t have cable at all & bought an antenna just to watch the games! However, I have a tower nearby so it works for me. Sports bars are a good alternative or going over to a friend’s place to watch the games!
Game day is a great way to get together with friends and family! Or a good excuse anyways.
I’ll have to read your comments and see if anyone offered a solution. We have not cut the cord, but my husband is a SF fan and we live on the east coast. we hardly ever get to see his games on tv even with cable unless we subcribe to specialty channels that cost even more. Its insane!
I was going to say it’s just a game, but your fist doesn’t sound very tasty, lol. Seriously though, we cut the cord last year and couldn’t have been happier with both the money savings and the time savings (I’m no longer trying to watch ever last show known to man, lol).
Bahahahahaha! Yeah, I have loved the savings with cutting the cord and I also really love watching one show in it’s entirety. I also love watching whatever episode I want to whenever I want to. But he is still whining over his games, lol.