"I Got The Sunday Ticket"

                                     

"I Got the Sunday Ticket!"

DirecTV customers know that jingle by heart right now.  It follows that big dude from "Curb Your Enthusiasm" as he wonders around his neighborhood [which, apparantly, Dick Butkis, Barry Sanders and Peyton Manning live] as he sings a song which is a parody of "I Got the Golden Ticket" from Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka [side note:  I didn't pick up on that until Wonka was on TV and I heard that song, which drove me crazy to figure out where I heard it from].

For 5 years now, I've had the NFL Sunday Ticket.  It is the greatest thing God ever put on this planet.  Okay...my family is the greatest...but then the Sunday Ticket.  It has made my wife a Football Widow for several years now...but it saves us money in the fact that I won't leave my house on Sundays so we don't go out and spend money [well, the Dominos pizzas don't count]. 

It is the entire reason we bought DirecTV...and DirecTV knows that.  They've made themselves into the #1 satellite provider on the backs of the Sunday Ticket.  I went to Best Buy and gobbled up the hardware and instantly ordered the package.  And we've been together ever since.

So...what is NFL Sunday Ticket??  Well it is actually more than just every game on Sunday.  Here is a rundown:

-Every Sunday...I get every game [blackout restrictions do apply....so you still won't get your local game if it doesn't sell out].  Every game.  When noon hits, I get Fox NFL Sunday and the CBS NFL Today on about 9 channels.  Then, at 1:00, those channels turn into football games.  All of them.  In my Sportz Room [which if you are a man, you need to get one], I have THREE TVS set up for football.  Two have DirecTV receivers and one has an antenna to get the local game [read: Bengals].  So I really do maximize my football viewing. 

-Pre game coaches shows.  Remember I said at noon you get the pregames?  Well, before that, the coaches shows come on.  So, last week, the Joe Gibbs and Mike Holmgren shows were on before the guys at Fox previewed the action.  Pretty cool.

-NFL Sunday Snap.  Basically just a channel that runs the scores and stats on it. 

-The NFL Network.  A few years ago, on DirecTV customers had the channel.  Over the past couple of years, it has worked it's way on many cable providers.  The channel RULES....especially when they televise virtually every preaseason game.  But that channel is awesome during the week, as well.

                         

-Hightlights on demand.  This is a TIVO deal [which we got this past year], but on Mondays there are little clips in a highlight package of each game played that Sunday.  The clips last about 2 minutes...but they are great for people with DVD burners [like me] who will make their own 2005 season DVD [which I am doing for the Redskins]. 

                   

-Red Zone Channel.  This is a new thing [part of their add-on, the Superfan package].  It is an extra channel that just goes from game to game and brings you action that's getting hot.  The Buccs are threatening to score....so the channel heads to Tampa.  After they score, they go to Washington to see the Skins at the 25 yard line.  The only flaw here is that it only does it with Fox's games.  Pretty cool channel!!!

            

-Game Mix.  This may be the greatest channel of them all!! It shows 8 games at once!!!  EIGHT GAMES!!!  What I do is leave one TV on this channel.  When a team gets into the redzone, the box surrounding the game turns red.  I see this, then turn on to that game. 

                

-Short Cuts.  Starting Monday, every game played on Sunday Ticket [which excludes the ESPN and ABC games] will be cut up into a 30 minute game.  Meaning, no huddles, no commercials, no BS.  It will run a play.....everyone gets up....next play.  It is awesome!!!  Technically, you could watch this channel for 7 hours and have watched every game that past weekend!

                        

-Gametracker.  It is a service that DirecTV.com offers where it offers running stats on the internet.  Those of you know that I keep my computer on while I watch football...so my fantasy stats compile.  This site is a great supplement!!!

-Fantasy fours.  On that website, just a little Fantasy game between Sunday Ticket customers.

-NFL Europe games in springtime.