The Ultimate Guide for the Wired Husky Fan

I moved to the Midwest right after the Huskies National Championship season. The first place I lived was Nashville, Tennessee. It was a tough move because I was leaving all my friends, family, plus Don James, and the Huskies behind.

It was pretty tough living outside of Seattle and being a Husky fan in 1992. I had to go to sports bars to watch games if they were on TV. Imagine how many fellow Husky fans you could find in Nashville, Tennessee? There was no Internet content at the time, so I had to subscribe to the Seattle Times Sunday edition by mail, and of course Sports Washington, which would show up 2-3 weeks late.

If I wanted up to date recruiting news I had to get jammed for an ungodly sum by Jim Heckman on his 1-900 service. If I wanted to listen to a game on radio I had to do it over the phone, and that was ungodly expensive too. I ended up flying to as many games as I could because it was the only way I could truly follow my favorite team if I was 2000 miles away from home. I am sure some of you other expatriated Husky football fans have had the same frustrating experience.

When I moved to Minnesota just a few years later a few things began to happen that were positive. The Internet was now in vogue, and the games started to be streamed live over the Internet. I also was able to follow the Huskies through the local newspapers, and something called Dawgman.com. Another piece of technology came along known as Direct TV, and I was able to watch the televised games at home rather than a smoky sports bar that was devoid of fellow Husky fans.

I have been here in Chicago for the past ten years, and as technology has advanced, I have bought into it to fuel my Husky passion. I got by very well with streamed radio, direct TV, and the Internet, but when I got married last year I had to learn to compromise, I wasn't going to be home every single weekend of the Fall anymore. My wife had to compromise too, she doesn't mind if I watch, and she enjoys it too, but sometimes commitments get in the way.

What I have done is put together the ultimate home, and remote package for the rabid Husky Football fan so no matter where I am in the world, or whatever I am doing, I will be able to watch the game.

1. High speed broadband Internet

You need this for a ton of reasons, but to power my remote packages I need a high speed G wireless router. As you will see everything works together in my Wireless Husky network!

2. Subscription to Dawgman

You can't live without if you are a Husky fan, and chatting online with fellow addicts during the game is a must. Also included is a subscription to Sports Washington which is awesome!

3. Free Subscription to Go Huskies.com

The only way you are going to be able to stream the game to your computer.

4. Y cable

If the game is only on radio you don't want to be restricted by listening over your tinny computer speakers. With a Y cable which costs five bucks you can plug the sound directly into your stereo and pipe it through the house.

5. Direct TV

If the game is on you can get virtually every game this way no matter where you live in the United States.

6. Comcast or Local Cable

Bill Fleenor has pointed out that some games may be on Fox College Sports only which means they won't be on direct TV, only cable. That is why Bill has both. Bill by the way is single, and this could be a reason for that.

7. Slingbox

Slingbox allows you to watch whatever you have on your home TV system anywhere there is a broadband connection for your PC. You can also stream the live video to your cell phone.

(Special note to Hair...you can have your dad set up a Slingbox with a Cable, or Direct TV receiver back in Seattle, and you can actually watch anything you want in Quatar free of charge from back home! You need a dedicated Direct TV, or Cable receiver because you actually change the channels on the reciever back home from your PC wherever you are.)

8. Treo 755P Smart Phone

This is Palm's newest smart phone, and you can watch anything you want from your home TV on it as long as you have a connection. If you have Slingbox, you can watch the game on your cell phone with a great picture and excellent audio. This new model even works high speed where EVDO service is available! You can even use your Treo as a high speed modem via blue tooth or cable to give your laptop an Internet connection when you can't find a WIFI signal!

9. Slingcatcher

This is a new device coming out this Fall that will allow you to project or Sling any image you have on your computer onto any TV screen wherever you are at n the world. So if you happen to be in Quatar, or some ungodly place like that, you don't have to watch it on your computer screen, you can project it on to your TV.

10. XM Radio

Every Husky game is available on XM radio so if you are in a remote location, or driving in your car, you won't miss a minute of the action in the continental United States. Unfortunately it doesn't work in Hawaii, Alaska, and is very spotty in the Caribbean, and Mexico.

11. Squeezebox

Squeezebox is an Internet radio receiver that streams your entire PC Music collection, Internet radio stations, and music services such as Rhapsody, Pandora, etc...directly into your audio system for a high fidelity sound. Listen to Softy, and KJR in all their harmonic majesty no matter where you live in the world. Can you stream the game? Not currently, but I imagine partnerships will be developed for that to in the near future. In fact I wrote CSTV about considering such a partnership. In the meantime I just hook up the Y cable to the audio during games from my PC.

12. The Remote Setup in the Parking Lot

A couple of quick notes on this........great info by the way.........At our tailgaters, we use these battery packs (see link) to power a laptop, a set of speakers, and Clearwire internet.
(of course, it's a side benefit that the brand is "Husky") Then, we use the system to connect to my Slingbox at home and - voila! - we can watch all the games on TV before and after the UW game. Tailgating in the 21st century rocks!

(Contributed by Nathan Ware from the PI Dawgblawg)

Husky Tools

Conclusion

I have gone to a lot of work and some expense putting together my complete Husky package, and if you are married you may not get the support you need, but since all these things work well with music, and other entertainment options you should be able to keep her happy too with all the new options you have put at her disposal!

My ultimate goal is never miss a Husky game ever again!