NFL Red Zone

I love to watch sports but as a Cincinnati Reds fan, I just never get to see any games. And when the occasional game was televised for me, it was blacked out more often than not. So several months ago, I decided to combine and lower some bills and switched to Comcast. When I made the switch, I added a sports package for about $7 a month and it gave me a Fox Sports station that carried Reds games.
That was definitely worth the $7 to me but I discovered an additional benefit. This package included the NFL Red Zone channel. I had heard about it but had never watched it. If you’ve never seen this channel, it…..is….. awesome!

I am used to getting very limited choices on games to watch. Fox and CBS carry games but sometimes they’ll only show one game on a Sunday. So I can usually choose between 3-4 games there and then there’s always Sunday Night Football. I’ve been very tempted (at times) to break down and get the NFL Ticket so I could see any game. But so far, if I really need to see a certain game, I just go to a bar and watch it there. And that’s not a bad option because you have several big screens with all of the games, not to mention beer, food and other fans.

But I’m a dad and I don’t have the desire to drop my kid off with someone for a few hours so I can go drink at a bar and watch a game. So that means I’m usually at home watching whatever games Fox and CBS decide to air. Granted, I have a big screen TV and it’s great for watching games. But since the stations show regional coverage, I never seem to get the games I’d really like to watch. Regional coverage sucks. I live in Indiana but that doesn’t mean I want to see the Colts over someone else. In past years, the Colts have seemed to jump out to big leads and when I’d like to switch to a closer game, the station decides that I should just watch the rest of a blowout.

Here is where the Red Zone channel comes in. In week 1 of the season, I flipped over to see what it was all about. Their claim is to show “Every touchdown, from every game”. So when a team moves into the red zone, the channel will flip to that game in case there is a touchdown. If more than one team is in the red zone at any given time, you’ll see a split-screen or they’ll flip back and forth between snaps.

That’s the basic premise but it gets even better. When one game goes to commercial or takes a timeout, you move to another game. If there is a lull in the game you’re watching, they’ll move to a more exciting game. The best part here……you do absolutely nothing. No channel surfing or worrying about getting back in time. You see the most exciting parts of every game and it’s all brought right to you! The only things you have to worry about are whether your snacks and beer are running out or if you should take that bathroom break now. Just plan those breaks wisely because you’re likely to miss something exciting.

This is great for fantasy football owners. Before, you’d watch the scores at the bottom of whatever channel you’re watching. You’d see the score change but wouldn’t know who scored the touchdown. Then you’d have to pull up a site on the Internet and look it up. That can get old if the score changes several times. But with the NFL Red Zone channel, you will see every score and there will be no question.

The only real downside (if I have to find one) is that you don’t get a feel for how your team is playing. So while I can tell you that Carson Palmer looked good on that touchdown pass to Chad Ochocinco, I can’t tell you how fluid the offense is running or whether the offensive line is forcing Palmer to hurry up and force throws. It’s a trade-off. You get to see all of the excitement and big plays from every game, but you won’t see the little things or see the things that your team is not doing well.

If I had the Bengals game on a regular station, I think that I would watch more of that game but flip to the Red Zone channel from time to time. But I’ve kind of said that each week when there is a game I’d like to see. And have I flipped back and forth, you ask? No. My tv has stayed on the Red Zone channel the whole time. It’s fairly addicting. I mean, there are no breaks, no lulls and you are transported from game to game to see action, excitement and more action and excitement.

To sum it up, the NFL Red Zone channel is great for fantasy football lovers and for those of you that want to see touchdowns, not a rush up the middle for a 1 yard loss. They’ll do look-ins on games throughout the day too so you will see more than just touchdowns. I think it’s nice to see players and teams that I don’t normally get a chance to watch. It keeps me from getting bored with whatever game happens to be on. I’ve been very pleased with this channel, especially since I got it in addition to my Reds games. But the Red Zone would be worth the money by itself.

Charlie Hustle