Brendan Maloney-USA Today Sports Images
After Week 1 there is one huge question about the Texas Longhorns that remains unanswered; will the Ole Miss game move from the Longhorn Network to ESPN or ESPN2?
Seriously, you’ve got to be kidding me if this game is going to stay on LHN. After watching Ole Miss in Week 1 during their Thursday night thriller over Vanderbilt I can’t wait to make it past this weekend and have Texas A&M vs. Alabama and Ole Miss vs. Texas on the same night. Last season the ‘Horns handled their business with a 66-31 win over the Rebels in Oxford and much like last year, Texas will more than likely handle their business again. It is going to be a game.
Back to the issue, though, the Longhorn Network is on the fringe of joining Notre Dame fans and Oklahoma as my absolute least favorite things about the wonderful game of college football. In fact, I don’t know what I dislike more, the Longhorn Network and the sense of entitlement it portrays or doormat SEC teams and their fans who chant “SEC!” on the coat tails of ‘Bama and LSU.
Look, it seems cool having the 24/7 access to your favorite team and in many cases I bet it’s pretty neat. But, when the contract terms, revenue and establishment of the network ultimately ignites the fire that almost dismantled the Big 12 conference entirely, I find it hard get on board with.
So, aside from the constant struggle I endure to enjoy something so self-loathing as a network all about one school while that one school struggles to maintain as a contender in almost every sport, I have to take an extra Advil for the migraine that I can feel brewing above my eyebrows when I think about the logic behind putting a match-up such as the Ole Miss-Texas game on a restricted network that requires an addition to your monthly cable bill.
I get the Longhorn Network; I’m just thinking about those who don’t or have no reason to pay extra for such a program but might want to see this one game. You know, like, maybe, Ole Miss fans back in Mississippi or the millions of college football fans without a dog in the fight who might want to watch a great game after ‘Bama goes up on A&M 31-6 at halftime.
It’s okay, though, I get the concept. It’s a program all about you; Why would you care about anyone else? I’m looking at you, DeLoss Dodds. Chalk another one up on your list of awesome ideas, but here’s an even better idea: put the game on national television.
