In 2013, I was lucky enough to attend two Gator basketball games. One at UConn and one at MSG against Memphis. The UConn buzzer beater broke my heart, but I was much more upset about the disgraceful attitude of the drunk UConn fans. I've learned that Storrs is just a trashy suburb of Boston, and the fans there are a bunch of uneducated, drunk, rude Boston fans. For any Gator fans reading this, just think of them as the "LSU of basketball" and it should be clear how unpleasant they are.
The Jimmy V Classic was a much better experience. The Pitt/Cincy fans there for the first game were civil to each other and to me, and I don't think a Memphis fan did so much as even shoot my group of friends in Gator gear a dirty look. Much classier group of fans. Much more enjoyable. And the better outcome didn't hurt.
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| Gator Nation at MSG for the Jimmy V Classic - December 17, 2013 |
So unfortunately, the Gators have had a whole bunch of problems with suspensions and injuries and general ineligibility this season. The two losses we had were single-digit road losses without our full roster, so I can't read too much into them. However, the Gators made a huge statement yesterday with a big road win in overtime at Arkansas. Arkansas may not seem like much to look at if you watch them on the road. But man...at home? The Razorbacks are tough. They can score. A lot. They had won 23 games in a row at home. So I already knew they'd be a tough team. Then I heard our leading scorer Casey Prather would be sitting on the bench with a bruised bone in his knee. Then I heard Patric Young and Scottie Wilbekin were questionable for the game and definitely wouldn't be starting. I worried that we'd be down to 5 scholarship players and Jacob Kurtz. Scottie and Patric stepped up and played through the pain. Dorian Finney-Smith was on fire with 22 points and 15 rebounds. And Scottie really stepped up and showed his senior leadership at the end of regulation. That was a GREAT win yesterday, and I fully expect the Gators to jump to #9 in both polls with Louisville and Iowa State losing. GO GATORS!!!!
But the Gators weren't the only ones to make a statement yesterday. ESPN made a statement about customer service. Most of the first half wasn't aired due to "technical difficulties." Does anyone else remember that the SAME THING happened during the 2013 Florida-Arkansas football game? Because it did. Those who know me well know that I live in New York City, but I grew up in a suburb in New Jersey that is within the New York City DMA. Apparently ESPN is unaware of that, though. My father still lives in my hometown, and we saw very different things at the end of the Florida-Arkansas game. My ESPN2 stayed with the Florida game until the conclusion of overtime.
Somehow, ESPN decided my father lives close enough to Philadelphia that he should be what's known as a "mandatory pullout" for the Memphis-Temple game. Let me assure you, my father does not care about seeing the first few minutes of the Memphis-Temple game. Sure, Memphis is ranked. But Temple was 5-8 going into that game. Florida was playing on the road without its leading scorer, with 2 more starters playing hurt, at an arena where Arkansas had won 23 straight...and the game went to overtime. As soon as Scottie Wilbekin hit that 3 in overtime, my father got a message that he could continue watching the Florida game on ESPN3, and he was switched to the Temple game. This makes no sense to me. I grew up in that house. Sure, we got some channels from Philadelphia, but our local television was primarily out of New York City, and I happen to know that county falls in the New York City DMA, not Philadelphia's DMA.
So I wrote to ESPN about my concerns - both about the switch and about the feed trouble that persisted. Anyone reading this who tried to watch the game yesterday knows exactly what I'm talking about. You were watching the game, it kept flickering in and out, they apologized for technical difficulties, and switched us to the Iowa State at Oklahoma game. So imagine my surprise when the "customer care" representative wrote back to me and said they didn't know about any feed trouble. That's interesting. If you don't know about any feed trouble, why is your on-air team apologizing for it?
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| ESPN's response, which made absolutely no sense |
Thanks ESPN for showing you not only don't care about your viewers, but instead of actually having someone available to read actual concerns from viewers, you'd rather send an irrelevant automated response with a shameless social media plug. I'm embarrassed for you. I wrote back to this response, even though I'm quite sure no one will ever see it. I also work in TV, so I didn't appreciate the complete lack of effort in providing me a proper response.
Anyway, Ohio State lost 2 straight in basketball, so I'll go to sleep happy tonight.
GO GATORS!!
