My first date with the NFL RedZone channel

By: The Football Girl | Posted:

I had the most A.D.D. date ever on Sunday.

I know, A.D.D. is an overused term among those not actually diagnosed with A.D.D.  And it’s annoying.  You might hear a co-worker casually joke about A.D.D. bring the culprit of shoddy work.  Or worse, an adult who likens a trip to Disneyland as visiting an “A.D.D. playground.” 

Nonetheless, there’s only one fitting way to describe my date, the RedZone channel:  it’s so A.D.D.   Venerable host Scott Hanson leads you down a herky-jerky journey of as much jam packed in-game content as possible.   

A typical sequence would be going out to Game A for one play, maybe two. Oh, there’s a penalty.  Cut to Game B for a field goal attempt, just long enough to see the ball clear the uprights.  Quick cut to Game C for a replay of a long run.  Then back to Game A just in time for a time-out.  Oops.  Click to Game G and a ten second delay of a TD run.  Game A is back.  Incomplete pass.   Game E, replay of pass interference penalty resulting in a first and goal. Back to Game A just because it’s featured.  Another incomplete pass.  Game F  for a 4^th and 1 on the 28 (the opponent’s 28). Quarterback sneak, first down.  Game B , replay of touchdown pass.  Game F, first down.  Game C, checking on injury. Game A, nothing.  Game G, Hail Mary attempt to end half.  Do you have a headache yet?  Forget the Hail Mary, I need a Bloody Mary.

Try watching ten minutes of RedZone without needing one of these.

I had heard nothing but raves about the RedZone channel, and I have to agree that it’s quite the impressive spectacle, both in terms of production value and Scott Hanson’s juggling ability. How funny is Hanson when he apologizes for the most minor things like slipping up on Dick Stockton’s name– we forgive you Scott.  RedZone is truly the perfect get-up for the fantasy football addict looking for the adrenal rush that comes with seeing your player score live (well, live in most cases).  It’s also about less than half the price of Direct TV’s Sunday ticket, and surely cheaper than the obligatory eating and drinking that comes with sports bars.

But there are some definite drawbacks to watching football this way.  Namely, you miss the narrative of the game.  You’re not watching NFL games; you’re watching Sunday Night in America a few hours earlier.    It’s analogous to memorizing the lyrics to a song, but not knowing what they mean or their little intricacies.  I admittedly did not know until recently why the Beatles choose “Lucy” as being the one “in the Sky with Diamonds” versus Amy or Nancy. Or the famous Dark Side of the Moon/Wizard of Oz synchronicity. I may have been lazy about music, but not football.  How are teams adjusting their defensive schemes? What quarterbacks look poised in the pocket? What about clock management?  These are all must-knows.

As for the nitty-gritty, the RedZone will too often cut to a game that shows a highlight of the game they just left - a wasted 20 seconds.  It’s also wasted time to watch the RedZone cut to a game that is being shown locally.  If I wanted to be a masochist and watch the Redskins, I’d simply click on the local Fox station.  I also found it frustrating to see a score update on NFL.com and have to wait a minute or two to see it on the RedZone channel.  Then, there’s a matter of games I simply don’t care about – let me rephrase, that I wouldn’t care about if I were not running this dandy website that cares about all teams equally.

Same Redskins replay twice within one minute? Thanks but no thanks, RedZone.

Overall the first date was a fun, exhilarating experience which took me out of my comfort zone. However, I’ll probably revert back to my type: all the games on their own shiny televisions.

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thefootballgirl
Posts: 1

Re: My first date with the NFL RedZone channel
Reply #2 on : Mon November 16, 2009, 15:07:39

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Thanks, appreciate the kudos. Isn't showing the highlight of another game within a game inherently A.D.D.? I'd simply pick my A.D.D. poison with never before seen highlights. I know the RedZone can't control in-game cutaways, if only...

Posts: 1

Re: My first date with the NFL RedZone channel
Reply #1 on : Mon November 16, 2009, 14:41:53

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Great blog post. I agree with you on almost everything, except for the fact that you can't criticize the RedZone channel for being A.D.D. and then criticize it for "wasting 20 seconds" by showing a game that shows a highlight of another game.