The Pecan Park Eagle

This little monster is a DVR. It’s like an old VCR with a much better picture.

Today I was watching the Texas A&M @ Alabama football game on TV; it started at 2:30 PM, during my normal Saturday nap time.

The problem this time was the surprising start that the Aggies got over the No. 1 team in the nation, but it may have been less surprising to people like me. We UH Cougar alums had seen what the “in your face” up tempo Sumlin offense could do pretty quickly against any team that wasn’t ready to deal with the pace as Alabama clearly wasn’t at the start of things today.

Half time brought me to a crisis phase. I could fight sleep to watch the rest of the game after the break and risk falling asleep anyway – or I could just put the DVR on, go take a nap, and then watch the rest of the game when I awoke.

I chose the DVR option, fully aware of the self-imposed conditions one must try to honor for the sake of not having the experience ruined by some uncalled for awareness of the outcome in advance of my DVR viewing.

Things seemed right:

(1) No one else was home, but me. CHECK

(2) After setting the DVR to record the game on Channel 11, I switched the viewing setting to the Turner Classic Movie Channel at 256 on the DirectTV guide. That way, I knew I would not be suddenly shown or told the score when I had awakened again and turned the TV back on. CHECK

(3) I would ignore cell phone call alerts and radios and conversations with neighbors until after I had seen the rest of the game for myself on DVR. CHECK

I did everything I knew to do before going down for a great nap that pretty much allowed me to slumber my way past the actual real-time event of the two games I was now recording. I had not felt up to going to our special UH homecoming game with Tulsa. It was just starting as the Aggie-Tide game was nearing the first half.

When I awoke, I first checked the UH game, only to learn in disappointment that my beloved Cougars were again having their beloved rears handed to them by another of the wannabe-big-shot schools on our schedule. Losing 31-0 to Tulsa in the 3rd quarter in real-time did not hold my attention for long, so I slipped over to the DVR version of the Aggies game that I was certain by the clock was now over.

But not over on digital. The Aggie lead in the 3rd quarter has been cut to 20-17. Can they hold on? We’ll see.

Not so fast.

All of a sudden, my adult son Neal bursts through the front door and sees me watching some game. From the sound, he doesn’t know which one it is. He just has this handy little phone app that gives him imminent data information on everything from game scores to the stock market to new earthquakes by location and Richter Scale magnitude.

Before I can even shout a word in defense, Neal yells out: “Hey, Dad, how about those Aggies beating Alabama? Can you believe that?”

“I can now,” I said.

After a brief discourse between Neal and me over the fact that his information has now accidentally ruined my DVR game experience, I watch the rest of the game, anyway, in spite of the fact that I now know the outcome.

What a great game! The last half of the 4th quarter alone, right down to that last gasp Alabama pass that the Aggies have to intercept in the end zone to seal the 29-25 win, would have been chilling to watch in real time – or on any outcome-blind DVR that has not been spoiled by an unrequested piece of critical information that suddenly falls upon an invested viewer like acid rain.

The new technology. It’s good. – And it’s bad.

Oh well, so far, Neal hasn’t accidentally spoiled a single one of my earthquake watch parties.