One of the most overused plot devices in movies and television has been the use of a big red button.
This button represented the villain’s ability with one downward movement to cause untold destruction to a city, country or even the entire world. This is not quite the case Down Under as one red button is offering Australians the opportunity to watch close to every single Premier League fixture live on television.
In Australia we have two major pay TV providers, Foxtel (capital cities) and Austar (rural areas). Fox Sports have been able to negotiate that while screening weekend and midweek games if any other fixtures are being played simultaneously, we only need press the little red button on our remote to access whichever game we would like to view. Foxtel began the system from day one of the season and Austar will roll out the mouth watering smorgasbord early in September.
When informed of this by a sports journalist, I initially thought it was another of this Liverpool supporter’s cruel jokes (they are seemingly always on live here!), I searched the Internet and found he was speaking the truth (first time for everything). I literally could not digest that I would be able to view pretty well each and every Derby game live. The best I had hoped for over the course of the season was 5 to 10 games and a run in the cup might have scored a few extra but to even dream of 36 plus was insane. Lucky for me insanity prevailed.
Finally being a Rams fan Down Under is not such a constant struggle. Years of scrambling for every single shred of information have become a veritable never ending stream of accessibility. The rights issues and broadcasting wrangles are not an issue here it seems. Fox Sports Australia negotiated with each provider so they could show any game they choose, when they choose. From information I have gathered by emailing their programming office the only rule is that they do not broadcast every single game from each club, from time to time one or two may miss out to avoid breaking that rule.
Nothing will ever substitute a trip to Pride Park and watching the Rams live as they take on the best teams the top flight have to offer but this is the closest I can hope to get without my passport being stamped. I hope to get that stamp next year after many failed attempts (no my real name is not Fuertes) but until then this is a fabulous way to wet my appetite for the real meal.
That little red button that until now has only provided me with a choice of rugby games from time to time or when watching Aussie Rules I can choose to listen to the referee or crowd rather than commentators (why???... does anyone do that!!??) or at my most adventurous review some player stats.
The magical TV coverage that the UK boasts with interactive features seems a thousand years off to us, your poor technically deprived colonial cousins. Finally we have something that most of you do not. I would poke my tongue out but that would be childish… so I’ll say “na na..na na na” instead!
Now all that is left to make my life complete is for the Doctor Who Christmas special to be shown on or around the festive day in question rather than in July (if Kylie Minogue on the Titanic in a waitress uniform doesn’t make it happen, nothing ever will!!).
We may live nine hours into the future but we still mostly live in the past.
For now I will just sit back and give my red button a real work out as I hope to have some great football to watch during the coming season, for that matter many seasons to come.
Let’s help re-name Tottenham to Bottomham … C’mon Ewe Rams!!