The good folks at Samsung are sponsoring a campaign around the theme of how technology "Enhances Your Experience," which means that a) I have an excuse to talk about two of my favorite topics (sports and technology) and b) we'll be able to donate $100 to the MACC Fund just for taking part in the promotion. That's a win-win...which unfortunately is the exact opposite of how the Bucks have started their 10/11 NBA season.
But never mind that for a second. It's hard to tell what's more amazing about technology--how quickly things have changed or how quickly we've come to take all this access to video, stats, and each other for granted. Remember: ten years ago there were no blogs, no League Pass Broadband, no Bucks games in HD, and no Sports Blog Nation. Heck, when I was in college in the year 2000, we had to plug into a wall to get internet. THE HUMANITY!
Now I watch the Bucks on League Pass while chatting it up in our game thread and tweeting on my phone. When the Bucks aren't in HD--because of my LP feed, not because FS Wisconsin doesn't carry it--I complain about watching in mere regular definition. And all that connectedness is nice, because when your team is getting hammered by the T'wolves and you're watching by yourself in Boston, you need to share the pain with someone. And yes, I'm absolutely putting off writing the recap for the moment in the hope of thinking happier thoughts.
So to me that's probably the best part about all of this. There's no doubt that I experience the game in a better way now that I have HD and access to games and highlights both on my laptop and over my phone. But in many ways the real value comes from sharing the fun and the frustration with other people who care as much as I do--whether it's talking about the last game with my dad on the phone (season tickets since '92!) or going back and forth in our comment section with readers who I'll probably never meet and live halfway around the world (note to Dave and Johann: I hope you prove me wrong!). People sometimes complain about the internet physically isolating us from the outside world, but that ignores all the information, ideas, and perspectives we have a chance to share because of it.
So dear readers, that's my roundabout way of saying that you enhance the experience even more than the amazing technology that helps bring us together. So because I don't say it enough: thanks for reading, thanks for commenting, and thanks for being a Bucks fan with us.
And now that I've buttered you all up...do you really need to recap that Minnesota game? OK, give me an hour...