(This is the first part of the three part series the SBN blogs are doing in conjunction Samsung. We will be running articles similar to this over the next two Friday's. Enhance your experience with Samsung!)
I moved to the Midwest right after the Huskies National Championship season. The first place I lived was Nashville, Tennessee. It was a tough move because I was leaving all my friends, family, plus Don James, and the Huskies behind.
It was pretty tough living outside of Seattle and being a Husky fan in 1992. I had to go to sports bars to watch games if they were on TV. Imagine how many fellow Husky fans you could find in Nashville, Tennessee? There was no Internet content at the time, so I had to subscribe to the Seattle Times Sunday edition by mail, and of course Sports Washington, which would show up 2-3 weeks late.
If I wanted up to date recruiting news I had to get jammed for an ungodly sum by Jim Heckman on his 1-900 service. If I wanted to listen to a game on radio I had to do it over the phone, and that was ungodly expensive too. I ended up flying to as many games as I could because it was the only way I could truly follow my favorite team if I was 2000 miles away from home. I am sure some of you other expatriated Husky football fans have had the same frustrating experience.
When I moved to Minnesota just a few years later a few things began to happen that were positive. The Internet was now in vogue, and the games started to be streamed live over the Internet. I also was able to follow the Huskies through the local newspapers, and something called Dawgman.com. Another piece of technology came along known as Direct TV, and I was able to watch the televised games at home rather than a smoky sports bar that was devoid of fellow Husky fans.
I have been here in Chicago for the past twelve years, and as technology has advanced, I have bought into it to fuel my Husky passion. I got by very well with streamed radio, direct TV, and the Internet, but when I got married four years ago I had to learn to compromise, I wasn't going to be home every single weekend of the Fall anymore. My wife had to compromise too, she doesn't mind if I watch, and she enjoys it too, but sometimes commitments get in the way.
What I have done is put together the ultimate home, and remote package for the rabid Husky Football fan so no matter where I am in the world, or whatever I am doing, I will be able to watch the game.
1. High Speed Broadband Internet
You need this for a ton of reasons, but to power my remote packages I need a high speed G or N wireless router. As you will see everything works together in my Wireless Husky network!
2. Subscription to Dawgman
You can't live without if you are a Husky fan, and chatting online with fellow addicts during the game is a must. Also included is a subscription to Sports Washington which is awesome!
3. Subscription to Go Huskies.com
The only way you are going to be able to stream the game live to your computer from ISP.
4. Direct TV
If the game is on you can get virtually every game this way no matter where you live in the United States.
5. Slingbox
Slingbox allows you to watch whatever you have on your home TV system anywhere there is a broadband connection for your PC. You can also stream the live video to your cell phone.
6. Smart Phone
Smart phones just keep getting smarter with the best of the bunch being the I-Phone from Apple and the Androids from Google. The only thing I don't like about the I-Phone is that you can only get it on ATT.
7. XM Radio
Almost every Husky game is available on XM radio so if you are in a remote location, or driving in your car, you won't miss a minute of the action in the continental United States. Unfortunately it doesn't work in Hawaii, Alaska, and is very spotty in the Caribbean, and Mexico.
8. Squeezebox
Squeezebox is an Internet radio receiver that streams your entire PC Music collection, Internet radio stations, and music services such as Rhapsody, Pandora, etc...directly into your audio system for a high fidelity sound. Listen to Softy, and KJR in all their harmonic majesty no matter where you live in the world. Can you stream the game? Not currently, but I imagine partnerships will be developed for that to in the near future. In fact I wrote CSTV about considering such a partnership. In the meantime I just hook up the Y cable to the audio during games from my PC.
9. The Big Flat Screen
I can't believe we used to think that a 28" had a huge screen! With today's HD TV's you get incredible sound, picture, and internet applications. you really are only limited by the size of your wallet and the size of the wall you are mounting the screen on. Samsung by the way seems to be the official flat screen of the SBN blogs.
10. Membership in the UW Dawg Pound
The message board is alive during game day and during the week we try to give you a positive view of what is going on with the team.
Conclusion
I have gone to a lot of work and some expense putting together my complete Husky package, and if you are married you may not get the support you need, but since all these things work well with music, and other entertainment options you should be able to keep her happy too with all the new options you have put at her disposal!
My ultimate goal is never miss a Husky game ever again!