We finally dropped our cable subscription last year and most of the time I barely notice it’s gone. However, with football season in full swing we’re starting to feel the sting of not having cable because trying to find a game to watch is like trying to find that proverbial needle in the haystack.
There are so many ways to watch an NFL game now. ESPN, NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, Peacock, YouTube, Prime — did I miss any? Probably. For a fairly recent recruit to the fun of watching a professional football game all this searching is a royal pain in the goal post.
Our oldest son Joe is the true fanatic in our house and since we’re always looking for ways to lure him home for a visit, we decided to splurge and get the YouTube NFL package.
“This way we’ll be able to watch ALL the games EVERY Sunday,” I told my husband Mark. “And we can watch on Thanksgiving, and we’ll be able to watch the Super Bowl too without having to pay for cable!”
“Good thinking,” Mark said, words I always enjoy hearing from my spouse as opposed to “What the hell were you thinking?”
You know, there’s a reason some people do research before making a purchase, undoubtedly the same smartie pants who read instruction booklets prior to trying out a new gadget. If you do your research FIRST, you won’t sign up for something that turns out to be a lot less than you thought it would be, which was the case with our football viewing package.
We were excited to see what games we’d be able to watch that first Sunday afternoon of the season. Joe came home for the big event, and I made nachos, our preferred football game snack. The whole family’s balloon was quickly pricked when we realized that the games we were interested in — Vikings, Bears, Packers, and Lions (once a Midwesterner, always a Midwesterner) were “Unavailable in Your Viewing Area.”
“What the heck?” I asked. “ALL the games we want to watch are unavailable?”
“It should be better next week,” Joe said. “Please pass the nachos.”
Apparently, as we learned a little late in the game, there are two ways to watch football on YouTube. You can get a full YouTube subscription which sounds pretty much like paying what we paid for cable to me or you can be cheap and get the add-on. In retrospect, whoever said you get what you pay for sure knew what they were talking about.
I can’t recall which games we watched that first weekend. I’m sure they were fine, but they weren’t any of OUR teams so what was the point?
When Joe left that evening, he asked, “Can you make sure I can watch from my apartment?”
I checked and yes, he could watch from his apartment since the plan allows us to share with family members. Joe, who is far less choosy when it comes to football than his parents, has been able to watch his beloved Seahawks along with any other games from the comfort of his own apartment and has visited us even less this fall than usual.
Having finally done the research AFTER our purchase, I also learned we aren’t getting any of the Thanksgiving games either, although Tubi, a free streaming service, is reportedly going to air the Packers playing the Lions which should save the day for us. I haven’t had the heart to look into the Super Bowl.
On the upside, Joe is happy, and Mark and I have been spared many hours of the agony of watching the Vikings and the Bears get defeated. Our other son, Hank, is also happy because he was never a football fan in the first place and he can take or leave nachos.
All of which goes to show that it’s wise to read the fine print in any contract prior to shelling out your hard-earned cash. Be it a new car or a streaming subscription, you’ll save yourself a whole lot of irritation. Not to mention the calories in all those plates of nachos.
Nell Musolf is a freelance writer based in Mankato. She can be reached at nmusolf@gmail.com.