College Football is back! One of the most anticipated seasons in recent memory begins tonight. Today might as well be Christmas Day Part Deux for us SEC fans, but what if Christmas was canceled? My favorite sport in the world hasn't even started yet and I'm already in agony.
No, I'm not suffering because my Tennessee Vols might get upset by Utah State this weekend, or that I have to work part of the day Saturday, I'm suffering because it's been TWO weeks and I have no sign of the SEC Network.
I live in Terre Haute, Indiana, the heart of Big Ten basketball country. Basketball is and will always be number one. I love basketball. However when Time Warner struck a deal with the SEC Network a few weeks back I thought things were looking up. GREAT. I can finally enjoy those 12:21 SEC Network games without having to watch them on my Xbox App which is 2 minutes behind everyone else. No more online streaming. No more putting up with bad games on the Big Ten Network. This is going to be life-changing for an SEC fan who lives north of the Mason-Dixon line. WRONG!
It's been 2 weeks to the day since the SEC Network said "hello" to the rest of the world and I'm still in the dark. I don't even have a channel number labeled for it. I've talked with several different nice ladies at Time Warner Cable, but they give me a different channel number to search for each time. So I go to the website, type in my area code to find the channel in my area and it reads "No channels matched your search."
My best progress came through a twitter conversation with TWC Help, but here it is, hours before Texas A&M and South Carolina kickoff and I'm holding a strand of broken lights next to a fried Christmas Tree.
Changing my cable provider would be an easy solution, but the apartment complex I live in has a deal with TWC so I'm locked into this marriage whether she puts out or not. It gets better. The SEC Network is not even offered in Terre Haute at the moment. The customer service rep puts a note about the channel in my file and says, "Now the SEC Network is channel 336 for me, but I live in Ohio. I'm not seeing it in your area however." Well that helps me sleep better. Ohio State fans can enjoy it, but I'm stuck in the dark. I want to add that I enjoy Time Warner Cable. They've treated me well in the past, but when it comes to this SEC Network Saga, they are fumbling the snap.
Maybe I'm trying to Outkick The Coverage? I get it. I live in Big Ten country with Big Ten fans so I should enjoy the Big Ten Network. I'm sorry. I can't.
I was born and raised in Tennessee. SEC football is in my blood. Surely I'm not the only person in my area that wants to enjoy this?
So as you unwrap that special gift known as college football on this fine day, please remember the little people like me. I'm Clark Griswold from "Christmas Vacation" before Cousin Eddie gets involved. Instead of that big bonus check to put in the swimming pool, I'm staring at a jelly of the month club. (If you haven't seen "Christmas Vacation" fix that immediately. Even before football starts). Maybe my Cousin Eddie will show up in an SEC clad RV?
Until then, I challenge you, college football fans, enjoy opening day, enjoy a huge weekend of college football, but most of all enjoy the SEC Network.
Some of us are less fortunate. Hey, at least I can kick back and watch that great Eastern Illinois vs. Minnesota matchup on BTN Thursday night.
