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Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
There are things in the world which man cannot explain. The world of television is no exception. How did HBO get away with showing “Howard the Duck” three times a day from 1987-1989, and why was it ever produced? Why did Fox cancel “Family Guy?” How did Anna Nicole get her own reality show?
Our campus has decided to follow suit with its choice of satellite over local cable. The main problem here is that satellite cable does not carry New England Sports Network or Fox Sports Net. NESN carries the Bruins and Red Sox and FSN carries the Celtics season games.
By selecting satellite, our university is neglecting the right of New England sports fans to watch and route for our teams. I’m sure that the majority of students on our campus are fans of one of these three professional sports teams and is not happy they cannot enjoy the games. What are we given to supplement the lack of NESN and FSN? The NASA network (yay!) or WGN: a Chicago network so we can enjoy the Cubs. Personally I could give a rat’s ass about watching the Cubs. I respect their team, but feel it is a slap in the face when I can’t watch the Sox, but I can see all the Sammy Sosa I want. Instead of being able to watch Paul Pierce tear apart opposing defenses nightly, I can watch hours of live NASA feeds. Man, what am I complaining about, did you see Mars over the last five friggin’ months?
I’m sure the University has its reasons for choosing satellite cable – like saving money, or saving more money – but if they polled the student body, I’m sure many are unhappy with the lack of New England sports programming. Might I point out the fact that many students were outraged when they couldn’t watch the Red Sox vs. Yankees on Fox because the Cubs and Marlins were playing on the same night and the programming favored the Chicago-region viewers. It really sucks that we cannot watch the regular season of the Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins since all three of these teams are in the playoffs almost every year it is a disservice to the students.
If we the student body voice our opinion on this matter, I’m sure the university department that decides on satellite or local cable would have to listen. Maybe it’s a technical issue, like switching the satellite systems over and we will never be able to receive the local cable network, but it is disappointing when a life-long fan can’t enjoy the simplest of pleasures.
If you haven’t already figured it out, I’m an avid New England Sports fan. I love the Bruins, Celtics, Pats and Red Sox as much as I love my dog. I live and die with every transaction, playoff game and championship. I wear my team gear religiously and have been called out on it. But with the lack of nightly sporting events, I have found myself in a state of remote control withdrawal syndrome. I constantly punch in the numbers of the NESN and FSN channels, hoping they will produce a game. I don’t know why I do it. I guess I’ve been programmed from a summer full of watching the Sox “Cowboy Up.”
In my weakened state, I find myself driving almost nightly to my friend’s house in Old Town to watch his local cable. Like a crack addict looking for a fix, I find myself in the same seat feeding my craving for the Celtics, Sox and occasionally the Bruins.
I’m sure campus fans of all New England teams feel my pain. I say we fight to get our sports channels. Writing letters, contacting student government and even voicing your opinion to RAs would help. I don’t know how much longer I can live on campus without the NESN and FSN channels. I’m sure others feel the same, so listen up whoever makes the cable decisions: Give us our New England sports back! At least we always have the good old Patriots. They can’t take them away from us.
Or can they?
