Stupid Greedy Big Ten

Here it comes. The big gripe session. The manifesto written in the shack in the woods (or in my case, in the bathroom over breakfast, so to speak). Just be forewarned.

Our little experiment in dropping cable has, thus far, been a success. Our new Tivo box works like a champ, and it's network features, such as sharing photos and music from our home PC, work even better than expected. We don't feel like we've missed any TV, and more importantly, we're getting more done while we're not zoned out watching "Keeping Up With the Kardashians."

So what's the problem, you ask?

Well, in a nutshell, it's basketball.

I knew when we went down this path that I would miss a lot of college basketball games on ESPN. (I gave up on the NBA about the time Reggie Miller exited stage left. I can watch old guys jog aimlessly up and down a court at the local gym.) And I knew there was a big stir being created by the launch of the Big Ten Network based on the college football season. What I guess I didn't realize was just how out of hand this whole thing had gotten.

You see, I have fond memories as a kid of sitting around the fire during Indiana winters watching Indiana University basketball games. (I realize some of you might know that I'm actually a Purdue grad, but I do have a degree from Indiana as well, so I guess my allegiances are split.) Now that the Big Ten has created their own network, all of those basketball games which used to be on free, local stations are now being broadcast on the Big Ten network. And to make matters worse, the vast majority of the state can't even get the Big Ten Network on their cable, leaving satellite companies as their only option.

The Indianapolis Star ran an article on this issue this morning. In the article you'll see that without cable or satellite, I'll be able to watch exactly two of the regular Big Ten season IU games -- Illinois and Ohio State. Now I realize that we as a family have made the choice to ditch cable and satellite. But it still doesn't seem right to me that the hard working, blue collar fans of IU basketball across the state won't be able to watch their favorite team this year without forking over their hard earned cash for a monthly cable or satellite subscription. I can't really imagine that the potential exists that I won't be able to sit and watch IU basketball games with Grant without succumbing to the stupid cable company in the future, and that's pretty sad.

In my mind, this is just another example of greed ruining a good thing in our society. And unfortunately, there are enough basketball fans in the state willing to pay the cost to watch their home team that the cable companies will end up winning this round. What a crock.

Now back to whatever is on PBS or ABC...