Alright, so today I figured, “Hey, the Royals are playing, let me catch the game on TV.” Simple plan, right? Or so I thought. I’ve been through this routine a million times, you’d think it’d be straightforward.
First thing, I grabbed the remote, plopped myself down on the couch, you know, getting comfortable. I flipped over to the channel where the games usually are. Nothing. Just some talking heads yapping about something else entirely. Okay, I thought, maybe they switched it up. No big deal.
So then, I started the grand channel surf. Clicked up a few, then clicked down a whole bunch. I went through all the sports-looking channels, then the local ones. Still no Royals. My thumb was getting a workout. I even checked that on-screen guide thing, scrolling through the listings. Lots of shows, lots of other games, but not the one I was looking for. It’s like they were hiding it on purpose.
This is where it gets a bit like a wild goose chase. I remembered last season, a couple of games were on some weird alternate channel, or that streaming app my kid signed me up for. So, I fiddled with the smart TV menus, navigated to the app section, loaded up the main sports app I have. Looked around in there. Nope. Not listed. Or maybe it was, but behind another paywall. Who can tell these days?
It’s kind of like trying to get a straight answer about anything anymore. You ask a simple question, and you get sent down a rabbit hole. Reminds me of when I tried to figure out why my internet bill suddenly jumped up. I called customer service, got put on hold, talked to a robot, then a person who transferred me, then another person who asked all the same questions the first one did. After about an hour of that, I just gave up and paid the darn bill. It’s like they make it complicated so you just surrender.
So, back to the game. I pulled out my phone, did a quick search – you know, “Royals game TV today.” And what do I find? A bunch of conflicting information. One site said it’s on Network X, another said Network Y, and a third muttered something about regional blackouts. Blackouts! In my own city! How does that even make sense? You’re telling me I’m too close to watch it, or too far, or the wind’s blowing the wrong way?
Turns out, after all that digging, it seemed like it was on some premium subscription I don’t have, or it was exclusively on a streaming service I wasn’t about to sign up for just for one game. It’s a racket, I tell ya. You pay for cable, then you pay for sports packages, then you pay for extra sports packages, and then you still can’t find the game.
In the end, I just gave up on watching it live on the big screen. I found a radio broadcast online and listened to that while I was out in the garage tinkering with some stuff. Not the same, you know? You can’t see the plays, the crack of the bat isn’t as satisfying through tinny phone speakers. But hey, at least I got the score.
It just shouldn’t be this hard to watch your team play. Used to be you just turned on the TV, and there it was. Simpler times, man. Now, it’s a whole investigation. But that’s progress for you, I guess. Or something.
