Scott Hutchison

A New Dad’s Exploration Into New Soccer Media

na·ive

adjective (of a person or action) showing a lack of experience, wisdom, or judgment.

Now let me use this in a sentence…

I naively believed that the birth of my first child wouldn’t really effect the way I consumed soccer each weekend.

We’d both be up early on the weekends. We’d both appreciate a bottle for breakfast (mine a bit different than hers). We’d both occasionally scream, cry and pout. What could go wrong?

Reality bites.

So the past 21 months have been a bit of a personal study. Part experiment in consumption habits, and part exploration into new consumption platforms. My subjective findings:

Mobile Broadcast Apps

Sneaky parenting 101, here. Out for a walk with the family, prop that connected phone up on your stroller hood. At lunch with Grandma and Grandpa, grab your connected tablet and drop it right there in your lap. The options here are endless, and the HD quality is amazing. FOX Sports, NBC Sports Network, BeIn Sports and more. They basically beg you to take their coverage on the go, it’s so good. Your only hiccup here is an understandably peeved spouse (log on and proceed with caution).

Streaming Radio Broadcasts

Sometimes, we opted to not have a TV on in the house at all (gulp).  When you can’t watch, the next best thing is to listen. To do this right, I recommend TuneIn Radio.  While other streaming services give you access to national radio coverage, or repurposed TV commentary, TuneIn lets you dig deep to find local radio stations in your favorite Club’s city. If you can’t see it with your own two eyes, listening through the voice of a “homer” is a pretty nice option.

Social Audio Apps

Many of the same insights here as streaming radio, but on steroids. Using these platforms felt as close as I could get to being back at the pub, even though I was in my kitchen. Real-time match coverage and banter, without the restrictions and restraint of a more traditional broadcaster. By far, my app of choice here would be rabble.tv.

DVR

There is nothing more maddening than working hard to block out all the texts, Tweets, messages and noise that may spoil a match you’re time-shifting, then having your mailman see you in a Chelsea jersey and say, “can’t believe we drew that one today.” While it will not always be your mailman, it’s always someone you totally don’t expect that ruins a result. My tip, avoid the DVR approach at all costs. Too risky.

The Condensed Match

Something I thought I’d hate quickly became my best friend. Taking a 90 minute match and editing it down to the most important 15 minutes, ready almost immediately after the final whistle.  So while this is technically time-shifting, it’s also time-saving. A quality trade off when time is at a premium. A few platforms offer some version of this service, but none does it better than MLS Live. I’ve used this more than a few times to help catch up on those late weekend night kickoffs in Portland (side note, it’s very embarrassing to admit I’m so tired these days that 9pm CT on a Saturday is a “late night” kickoff for me.)

Social Media

Twitter, Facebook, Periscope, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. So many options, so many snackable highlights and so many viral GIFs. I’ve found a new appreciation for turning the second-screen into the first-screen and just consuming the match through other’s eyes, words and content.

The Pub Sneak

Okay, this is a bit of a wild card, but sometimes it’s just necessary. There is no real tech needed here, it’s just going old school.  Volunteer to take your kiddo for a couple hours and hit your local pub. That small, smiley little creature in your arms may soon become the most admired supporter in the bunch.

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All in all, this just scratches the surface of options I’m sure. Have a favorite not mentioned here, please do share.

Categories: Europhile, Featured, Social Media