What does it mean to be “unplugged?”
For one generation, it was watching Eric Clapton playing “Layla”
on an acoustic guitar.
For another generation, it is putting the headphones down
and putting the head up, not looking at the smartphone.
Here, it was a case of not watching TV (for the most part)
and “cocooning” with the wife at home for the weekend. The holidays were hectic
with family and friend commitments, so to have two days of just sitting and recharging
the batteries was a blessing.
So, while we were working on our hobbies and worshiping our
Lord, the federal shutdown kept on churning in Washington, the “doinks” were
being heard in Chicago again, and in this corner, we didn’t watch any soccer.
Sure, the FA Cup was held in England, with third round
matches a plenty, and it was a good Saturday afternoon for the Gunners (Arsenal
FC) in Blackpool, but since these broadcasts were not available on cable, we
didn’t miss it. You see, ESPN bought the US rights to the FA Cup and promptly
put it behind an online “paywall” called ESPN+.
For five bucks a month or so, you could access the streams
for those broadcasts. That comes to an extra 60 bucks a year, on top of the
cable bill. No thank you.
Same thing with NBC Sports Gold and its Premier League games
that used to be accessed for free a couple of years ago. No thank you.
All this, as well as similar pay services such as NFL Sunday
Ticket, MLB Extra Innings, NHL Center Ice and NBA League Pass, has done is helped
to wean me away from wanting to watch sports. I can now live without these
games and finding other things to do with my spare time.
Better things to do with my spare time.
Being “unplugged” is not so bad after all!
Thanks!
