Big Ten Network

A few months ago, a new channel known as the Big Ten Network debuted after months of advertising and the promise of more televised Big Ten Sports than ever. However, what it actually accomplished for most fans, is less sports being available to watch. Because of contractual disputes regarding whether or not Charter could include the Big Ten network on basic expanded cable on have it relegated to the sports tier, allowed for the Big Ten network to only be available on satellite such as Dish Network or DirecTV. It is unbelievable that in cities like Madison that revolve around its college sports, that the fans cannot watch the games in the comfort of their own home.

It is humorous however, and somewhat alarming that the Wisconsin state legislature set their budget for their next year several months late, however when it was announced that the Wisconsin Ohio State football game would not be shown on Charter cable, a bipartisan emergency bill was passed forcing Charter and the Big Ten Network to negotiate.

Last night was the first Wisconsin basketball game of the year and was unable to be watched on cable tv. Many future basketball games are going to be televised on Big Ten Network and fans are definitely going to become more upset as the season goes along. Furthermore, next week's Badger football game vs Minnesota will be televised on BTN forcing fans wanting to watch the game to go to a restaurant or bar. This needs to end.

Badgers/Buckeyes

For a few brief minutes, last Saturday, Madison, Wisconsin was the center of the sports universe. Halfway into the third quarter, the lowly Badgers, already coming into Columbus, Ohio with two unexpected losses, were leading the number one ranked Buckeyes, in their home stadium known as the Horseshoe. It was a surreal scene in Madison that Saturday morning. The game was televised on the Big Ten Network, a station that is not carried by the Charter cable company, allowing only those viewers who had subscribed to DirecTV to be allowed to watch the game in the comfort of their own home.
In response to this change, thousands of people flocked to sports bars at 11 in the morning in order to watch the game. Never have I seen State Street Brats so crowded. It was impossible to find a seat upstairs in order to watch the game on the two big screens, so I headed outside, although it was a little cold at first. Nonetheless, the patio outside was still crowded and whenever the Badgers were driving and in scoring position, an even larger crowd would begin to gather outside the gates of Brats in order to look in on the TVs.
However, the glory of beating the top ranked team faded fast, as the Buckeyes finally found their groove and scored 28 straight points on their way to what ended up being a convincing victory. The Badgers are now left with three conference losses, an extreme disapointment, and yet another tough matchup this weekend with the Wolverines of Ann Arbor coming into Camp Randall. Hopefully, the Red Sea will be enough to help the badgers beat Michigan at home, just like it did in an upset two years ago.