Both my mom and dad attended Rutgers University. That fact alone is enough to understand why this weekend's matchup against Arkansas was much more exciting to witness via live television broadcast. During the game I logged onto Rutgers' page and attempted to gain the same experience while viewing the game on my laptop, by way of live streaming. For many reasons, this just was not the same. In my house, like many others, football is a family affair. Everyone usually meets at my grandparents to enjoy a day of eating, drinking, and lounging around the television, rooting for our favorite teams. This is only properly done with a large screen television. With watching a college football game on television, we have the ability to flip from one event to another with ease and simplicity. However, the main problem I have is that the quality of free football streams can be very unstable. Sometimes, finding a reliable, uninterrupted stream can be more difficult than finding a reliable one. There are a couple of reasons for this; streams are often shut down in the middle of broadcasting because of copyright issues. Additionally, if the number of users fluctuates wildly during the stream, it will affect the quality and speed of the stream. To break it down further, here is a short list of my feelings towards television vs. online presentation.
Surround sound/volume in general are not comparable
Slowness of loading large videos online is brutal
Overall experience is lessened when watching on a 13" screen
While commercials can get annoying, they also provide a small pause in the action, which is sometimes necessary during a full day of football with a large group of people. Commercials allow for bathroom breaks, conversation, and plate refills
Online streaming (in my opinion) is only good for when you don't have access to a television
Running the risk of loading a harmful or illegal site in order to stream a sporting event is also not worth it to me
I also love concept