Watch, or wait?

[Lord Ash]

So, here is the situation;

One of my closest friends ever is a buddy from Duke. We tented together (tent #2 and then tent #1) and, after graduation, lived right near each other and watched every game together. Then, a few years back, he moved to California, so no more Duke watching together!

He is coming to visit on Thursday, December 2, to go to the Butler game. However, we are now debating... should we both hold off on watching Michigan State on Wednesday night and watch it, recorded, together?

The positive: get to watch maybe the biggest regular season game of the year together, which is big, since we now simply never watch games together after 15 years of watching EVERY game together.

The negative: not as much fun to watch a game on delay as it is live, and he runs the risk of seeing the results in the 24 hours between the actual game and us watching it (he will be at the airport and will also is on a Blackberry and online a lot.)

What do you guys think? Wait? Or no?

[Newton_14]

This one is tough. My first thought is to wait and enjoy a cool couple hours with an obviously dear friend watching a marquee game like old times. That is cool.

However, in the age we live in, the chances of not finding out who won the game prior to when you sit down to watch it are slim to no chance in hell. Just not going to happen.

So watch it live, and then enjoy the Duke victory the next day watching it again with your buddy!

Good Luck!

[Bob Green]

I vote to watch it live. As Boozer stated, in the age we live in it is almost impossible not to hear the results. This is a nice segue to a sea story, I lived in Hawaii during the 1979 World Series, and Hawaii TV stations routinely showed sports tape delayed. For game 7, my friends and I planned to watch the game at Pearl Harbor enlisted club; however, we stopped by McDonald's for some nourishment and as we sat there eating our cheeseburgers and fries a customer sat down in the booth next to us and turned on a portable radio...yep...the first words out of the radio announced the Pirates defeated the Orioles. So much for our evening plans....

[Acymetric]

I might suggest that if its a good game you could watch it live and then watch it again with your friend (if it wasn't a fun game to watch this might not be good, but otherwise could still be fun).

[ambitiouspear]

Both watch it live, then watch it again together (assuming a victory).

[brevity]

Watch it live. Also record it.

I'm assuming that most of the fun of watching these games with your friend comes from having your friend there. It's not as if you'd get the same enjoyment by watching a live game with a stranger. My point is that the experience is more than just not knowing the results.

Re-watch the game with your friend. With the outcome already known, you both feel free to pick apart the telecast at your leisure.

[juise]

I agree with the last three posters. I enjoy watching games live, but they are more fun for me to-rewatch when I don't have to fret about whether or not Duke will pull it off. I would love to watch the game again (if Duke wins) with a friend, anticipating all the great plays and exciting moments.

[SilkyJ]

I vote WAIT. Its not as hard as you would think, and I've done it several times. And I always find its worth it.

I live in California as well so I watch every weekday Duke game on the weekday on DVR. I wait for my "crew" to get back from work, then we all meet up and watch. Now that's usually only a matter of hours after the game, but I still have to avoid text messages, not check ESPN, etc. But all that takes is a little discipline.

I've also done the overnight wait as well. I did it the last two years on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving while I was flying home (ASU game last year, So Ill 2 years ago). I was in the airport bar as the game was going on, a different game was on TV, and I managed to avoid catching the score each time. It wasn't luck though, it takes vigilance and discipline. This may sound a little obsessive (but I'm fine with that, I'm obsessed with Duke basketball) but here's what you have to do:

At the airport, if you go to the bar while waiting for your flight:

- Put in headphones at the bar in case another game is on and the announcers say something about the Duke game (keep them on as you board the flight, put them back in when you land)
- Do NOT look at the ESPN scroll on the bottom (that's what will get you)
- Notify friends and family not to text you, and if you do receive texts, see who is texting you before you read anything

So basically, piece of cake :)

I've actually done this a couple other times and its totally doable. My parents will wait til I come home and watch the game with me the next day as well. We always find it to be worth it. Nice way to wake up after a red-eye, which is what I'm always taking.

(am I totally nuts for having thought of and doing all this, probably...)

[devil84]

I'll add a twist to watch it live: communicate as often as possible by whatever means you can while he's traveling. It's a new year, and you'll need to adjust to your new situation, which will require a new method of "watching it together."

It's very, very hard to go 24 hours in this era without finding out the score. Geez, 24 hours without you checking DBR?! REALLY?! Not seeing a newspaper, the MSN/AOL/whatever news outlet page, not listening to the radio, acquaintances that didn't get the memo sending you congrats or condolences...it's possible, but not probable.

And asking people to not mention the score...I recall a band concert at my children's Raleigh high school. I could NOT miss my daughter's senior concert or my son's first solo. It was the first night of the ACC tournament (the band director is a LSU football fan and hasn't warmed up to basketball *sigh*). Usually during concerts we'd give score updates, but given that SO many people were DVRing the games, the band director said that by popular request, there would be no score updates. He mentioned a few people in particular so nobody would spill the beans -- my name was last. Another "helpful" parent wasn't totally listening (not unusual for this parent -- or maybe this person was just mean and spiteful), turned around, and TOLD ME THE SCORE, because "I thought you'd want to know." Thanks, $!*(#.

So, my advice would be to watch it live in your new manner of watching it "together." Sure he'll be traveling, but you'll be able to watch it together later, and perhaps the second time around, you'll be able to see things and answer some questions or offer deeper insights in the post-game thread. :)

[weezie]

Both watch it live, then watch it again together (assuming a victory).


Watch it live. Also record it.



LA, one of my very closest, personal friends from my Duke days (aka my Duke husband)
would never deny me the pleasure of watching the game if he wasn't around (for any dumb reason like his patients getting critical or whatever, blah blah,blah.)
We record all the games in order to watch them again, too.
We don't actually get much accomplished during the season but if Coach K ever needs any help with a defensive set, we're both available. It's the least we can to to be ready if called upon :D

[Lord Ash]

Just thought I'd update folks (not that anyone particularly remembers or cares) but we decided to go with "wait." We are hoping to not find out anything about the game before tomorrow night, so will be avoiding TV and the internet until then... so goodbye, fellow Dukies, and hope the game goes great!:)

BTW, on an aside... I AM going through the usual game-prep (wearing and kissing the ring, etc) before the game, even though I am not watching it. This is proper superstition etiquette, right?

[bluepenguin]

What do you guys think? Wait? Or no?
Why don't you watch the game live TOGETHER?
Haven't you heard of Skype, iChat, Facechat, etc.? Link up and enjoy all the games together!:cool:

[Lord Ash]

*laugh* Okay, Mr. Fancy-Pants 21st Century!

Unfortunately that isn't quite the same... you can't high five! However it is certainly an interesting idea!

[OldPhiKap]

You can't avoid finding out about the score, and you know you want to watch it.

My call: watch the game live, and when your pal gets there, watch a video of a favorite game from the era you tented.

Win, win.

[deezl]

You can't avoid finding out about the score, and you know you want to watch it.

My call: watch the game live, and when your pal gets there, watch a video of a favorite game from the era you tented.

Win, win.

I agree, there is NO WAY you won't find out about the score early. The newspaper, internet, ESPN, local news, and if you have anti-duke friends like I do - text messages.

[bluepenguin]

*laugh* Okay, Mr. Fancy-Pants 21st Century!

Unfortunately that isn't quite the same... you can't high five! However it is certainly an interesting idea!However, when he spills his beer, jumping up from his seat, it won't get on you or your furniture.

[Lord Ash]

However, when he spills his beer, jumping up from his seat, it won't get on you or your furniture.

*laugh* Okay, a good argument...

To be honest, I think I'll be able to avoid it. I just don't check the internet tonight, and I have to go to bed by 10:00 PM anyway, so that should be safe. I don't look at the internet tomorrow morning when I wake up, and I don't need to anyway. I work from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM tomorrow with no computer access or phone access of any serious note, and I work with 11 year olds who don't know anything about basketball... and they are scared of me. Then right to the airport to pick up my buddy, and then right home to watch. No one in their right mind would try to get the info to me to "ruin" anything, because they know that would be the absolute end of any friendship, instantly... plus, I don't have any friends who would actually do that, thankfully:)

So I think *I* am pretty safe. My buddy is also not turning on the TV or computer starting tonight and through tomorrow... our only fear is he might catch a glimpse of a TV at the airport and see a result, so he is being VERY careful to at no point face a TV and to keep an ipod on at all times. Then the only thing we worry about is if someone sitting next to him on the plane has a TV on and he sees it... so he'll just have to be super careful.

It will be tough, but hopefully worth it... it would be awesome to be able to watch the MSU game together and then GO to the Butler game together... if you only get to see basketball together maybe once every five years and for only about 4 days total, that is a pretty good stretch:)

[SilkyJ]

You can't avoid finding out about the score, and you know you want to watch it.


Yes you can!! i've do it all the time, both DVRing a game for later that night and waiting overnight (only did the later twice).

Its definitely possible and I'm glad I talked Ash into it :)

(Yes, I'm taking all the credit :cool:)

[SilkyJ]

No one in their right mind would try to get the info to me to "ruin" anything, because they know that would be the absolute end of any friendship, instantly... plus, I don't have any friends who would actually do that, thankfully:)


Definitely be careful of txt messages/emails though. Someone might txt you randomly, or someone might forget you are waiting. So dont just dive right into a txt, look at who its from then slowly start to read, and if its getting hairy, EJECT! EJECT!

Some people may think this is getting ridiculous, but I've had to do it and I want to make sure this works out for you!

[superdave]

I was on a bus from NYC back to DC last year during the Baylor game. I think the game was ending about the time I started it up on my dvr. So there was no chance I'd know the outcome. I found out we were heading to Indy about 90 minutes later than everyone else. But there's no way I'd try to wait a whole day!

[Lord Ash]

Thankfully, my phone has no texting. I'm telling you, I am cutting off all communication of EVERY SORT for the next 24 hours starting at 9:25ish!:)

I'll let everyone know how it goes... fingers crossed!:)

[DukieInKansas]

I hope it works for you, Lord Ash.

If the Blue Devils lose, I can't even make it home from hand bell practice without figuring out the outcome because of the person smirking in the car next to me. My license plate and license plate frame make it obvious that I am a Duke fan. Even the utility guys gave it away when I went out to question how long the power would be off when I was watching a recording of a game. It's harder to determine from total strangers when the team wins - but when the team loses, people seem to take great joy in it.

[Lord Ash]

Hey all!

Just thought I'd pass on an update... it worked! Neither of us found out the results, and then we got home from the airport and had an AWESOME time watching together!

One thing, however... I had joked, on the drive home, "Watch... Kyrie probably broke his ankle or something and here we are, not knowing, but the entire Duke basketball world is abuzz with it!"

Heh. Then we are watching the end of the OT game before, and... what? Kyrie goes down and then is taken off?!? Argghghghhh!!!

Thankfully it was nothing:)

Anyway, just wanted to update everyone... and tomorrow, it is off to the Butler game... section 120, row B, the tall guy and the short guy wearing the big Duke ring in my avatar, stop by and say hi!:)

[UrinalCake]

Well it's a little late but I was going to suggest to your friend that he NOT wear any Duke apparel when traveling. That's just an invitation for a stranger to come up to him and mention the game result. Anyways, I'm glad it worked out for you guys.

I often have a similar dilemma when I've DVR'ed the game and plan to watch it later in the evening (or as is the case now, if I'm going to watch it archived on ESPN3.com). I can never decide if I should find out the score first. Obviously this takes away the suspense of the game, but I typically can't wait to find out what happened. Also, if the game is a blowout then I might not want to watch the whole game (I know, that makes me a crappy fan, but family duties and sleep often take precedence).

So what I typically do is check the score at halftime. If it's close then I'll just watch the second half. If it's a blowout, I'll go back and watch the first half, then skip the second half. This way I can maximize my time if I'm not able to watch the whole game.

[SilkyJ]

I knew it could be done! Happy for you guys. We'll be at the Butler game as well. Section 1 (under the basket), Row H. Devilishly handsome dude in my avatar (no not Johnny Dawkins!) wearing the throwback Dunleavy jersey from his days on the Warriors.