Giving In--For Now

I was determined to stand my ground.  

To not give in.  

I was successful throughout college football season.  

Kept telling myself, don’t do it.  Don’t do it.  You can manage.  

Then March rolls around and I decide to go for it.  

I bought one of Sling’s streaming TV packages.  

Yes.  I’m well aware of my pride around being one of the growing number of cord-cutters.  Existing since our relocation to Manhattan without the need for DirecTV, Dish Network or the local cable company service.  Antenna only.  

Why did I break?  

Early in March I looked at the Big 12 men’s basketball schedule.  Saturday March 9 featured K-State at home against Oklahoma.  Last regular season game.  Last home game.  Senior day.  And…if K-State won and Texas Tech lost, the Wildcats take the Big 12 regular season title!  

Geogal and I looked into buying tickets but as soon as we went to the official site we got the “Sold Out” notice.  

So…still wanting to catch the game but not wanting to go the secondary market route or deal with scalpers or spend the afternoon at a sports bar I thought about Sling TV and its ESPN offerings.  

The basketball gods also dangled the carrot of Iowa State hosting Texas Tech earlier in the day.    Promised to be a good game regardless of who wound up in the W column.  

That was enough for me!  Go online and set up the account.  Since I have a smart TV with built-in Roku I was watching additional channels in no time.  

(A couple of advantages to streaming services is that you don’t have to wait for the installer to show up at your residence, nor do you need their equipment.  Saves one the additional fee for “set-top box rental.”)   

Even though I tried to avoid ESPN’s monopoly family of networks the hoop action that day proved too much to resist.  Yes, I was rewarded with the satisfaction of seeing the ‘Cats get an easy victory and Iowa State/Texas Tech giving each over everything they had.  In the end Kansas State ended up sharing the regular season conference title with the Red Raiders but that’s still something to celebrate.  

Then came the conference tournament(s).  Again, having ESPN’s cartel family of networks proved delightful.  

Icing on the college hoops cake?  Being able to watch TBS and TNT on the same Sling package.  March Madness was awesome!  

But now that we’re in the Elite Eight and there’s no Cinderella I figure the Sling service will go bye-bye in the next few days.  (Gotta also like no contract!!)  

All of this provided another lesson:  Don’t be afraid to be flexible, and feel free to enjoy the modern conveniences if it doesn’t break your budget!  

Can’t live under a mass-media rock all the time….