Should I Stay or Should I Go: HDTV vs. Tickets to The Game

This is a guest post by David Lahti. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2008 with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and a concentration in Sports Journalism. He is a freelance writer and currently works for a finance company in Cedar Park, Texas. You can contact him at dlhookem AT gmail.com

The phone rings.  It’s your buddy, he has two tickets to the Texas Longhorns vs. Kansas Jayhawks this coming weekend and you’re invited.  At first thought, you’re pumped, a chance to go see the Horns in their final home game before their push into the 2010 BCS title game in Pasadena.  You can smell the roses already.

But if you are anything like me, a college graduate with a full time job who is closer to getting a reduced rate on car insurance than doing keg stands at foam parties, reality starts to set in.  So does the smell of the dried puke from the overly eager and extremely intoxicated frat boy who passes out next to you in the 2nd quarter.

I have a 50 inch HDTV, three leather recliners, a refrigerator stocked with ice cold beer and food, and a remote control within grabbing distance all within the comfort of my home.  The question now arises:

Which is better?

Watching the game from the comfort of your HD capable home or fighting the masses in an attempt to see the game live in person.

Arguments for both sides seem to be valid.  You have multiple reasons for wanting to stay home and root from your recliner.

• Face value of a ticket to a Longhorns game: $80

• Number of drunk, obnoxious fans at DKR Memorial Stadium: 115,000

• Ridiculous price of stadium food and drink (no beer available at DKR)

• Length of time it takes to commute, park, walk to the stadium, walk back to the car, sit in traffic for an hour trying to   get out of the parking garage, then of course the drive home.

• Calling your own timeouts and replays via your HD DVR

• Being able to see the action no matter where it is on the field (did I mention in HD?)

• A thermostat and shelter

• Ability to watch other games

• Leather recliner vs. metal bleacher

• Being able to sit and watch the game, instead of standing on your seat the entire game – a requirement of sitting in the student section

The old fashioned sports fan is cringing at the list I provided, which is fine, that list has nothing to do with the history of sports entertainment.  This is the future.  Going to a game now costs hundreds of dollars, not to mention a huge investment of time, especially if travel is involved.

DKR Memorial Stadium and “Jerry World” do their best to compensate for the fact you cannot always see the action from your seat by putting “Godzilla-tron” screens up for the fans viewing pleasure.  That then begs the question, if you’re watching the game on the stadium’s big screen for most of the game, why are you there in the first place?

Now the sports purist in me comes out.  You forfeit everything mentioned above, buy tickets and show up to the stadium in your favorite player’s jersey for one simple reason:  the love of the game.

There is not a list to quantify “pros” for attending a live sporting event.

It is an experience.  You can tell your friends, “Yeah, I was there.”  You don’t feel the same watching Colt McCoy lead the Longhorns down the field for a game winning touchdown in your living room as you do with 115,000 other Texas fans screaming “TEXAS! FIGHT!” at the top of their lungs.  You don’t look around in awe at the sea of burnt orange and white surrounding you.  You don’t smell the sulfur and feel the stadium shake every time the cannon booms.  You don’t chest bump and high five complete strangers.  You don’t sing “The Eyes of Texas” with the rest of the fans devoted enough to stay after the game and honor school tradition.  There are so many things lost when you do not attend a game in person, but you have to actually go to a game to understand exactly what that is.

Take the 2005 BCS National Championship game that pitted Vince Young and the Longhorns against Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and the USC Trojans.  A match up that lived up to its hype and went down as one of the greatest college football games in history.  I watched the game at home, with a rowdy crew of Horns fans and an insane spread of food and drinks.  My friend went to the game, spending thousands of dollars on the flight to California, hotel and tickets to the game.  He actually saw Vince Young cross the goal line on 4th down for the win with only seconds remaining on the clock.  Would I trade a couple thousand dollars to see that game in person?  Probably not.  But my friend can forever say, “I was there.”  I can only say I saw it on TV.

Ultimately, the fan must make the decision.  It makes sense to have a healthy mix between the two, attending a game occasionally when the time is right.  But with technology at home becoming more advanced and affordable, coupled with ticket prices steadily increasing, staying at home could become much more appealing than a trip to the stadium.

image source: sheknows.com