Disconnected

So there I was all week, happily looking forward to that booster shot of NFL goodness every fan looks forward to, the little rush of adrenaline that helps them coast through the remaining football-less months, the NFL draft.  I got beer and snacks, I informed everyone I would not be available on tonight, and I was all ready to spend the evening bingeing on 40 times and Mel Kiper’s hair.

Until I remembered the draft is on ESPN.  And I don’t have cable anymore.

You think I would have accounted for this.  You think I would have been more on top of things.  But no, it wasn’t until mid-day yesterday that it hit me.  I mentioned that I was debating going to a sports bar to watch the first round, and then it occurred to me that I would have to.  Because short of running a coaxial cable down to someone else’s apartment, ESPN ain’t coming to my TV tonight.

I’ve gotten pretty used to the no-cable thing, but this is my first NFL draft without it, and I’m having withdrawals, hard. Granted, ever since the NFL sexied up the draft by turning it into a prime time extravaganza, the weekend-long orgy of football minutiae is gone, so it’s not quite the same experience.  But that doesn’t mean I’m not still glued to it.

Problem is, a sports bar isn’t conducive to the main reason I tune in:  to listen to the speculation, analysis, and general ranting of the talking heads.  If I’m going to OD on football, I want the whole thing, not just the visual overload of about a dozen different graphics running at the same time.  I want Chris Berman fumbling for a new nickname.  I want Todd McShay trying to convince everyone he’s not going to be the next Kiper, but that he already is. I want every last inane detail.  Yeah, I realize it’s mostly filler, but it’s familiar, comforting filler.  And with this being not only the last night of the NBA season but the thick of the NHL playoffs, the chances of any sports bar having the sound turned up on the NFL draft — and me being able to hear it even if they did — are pretty darn remote.

Fortunately, it looks like the NFL Network is going to stream their draft coverage on their site.  It’s not ideal — it’ll probably spend more time buffering than actually playing — but I’ll take it.  It’ll be new for me, since I’ve never had the NFL Network, so the familiar won’t be quite so familiar, but it’s better than nothing.  And if worse comes to worst, I’ll just pop on ESPN Radio and listen to the coverage there.  Or peek in someone’s window who does have cable. I’m sure they’d understand.