Life as a long distance Detroit Lions fan living in Chicago
By J.D. Laker
Chirping from Bears fans has all but stopped these days, but there are still many obstacles besides unruly fans to overcome for Lions refugees like myself.
More from SideLion Report
- Top 5 revenge games on the Detroit Lions 2023 schedule
- Lions center Frank Ragnow optimistic about continuing to play through toe injury
- Detroit Lions 2023 preseason schedule: Dates, times and opponents
- A new contract extension projection for Lions quarterback Jared Goff
- 4 wide receivers the Detroit Lions could still look to acquire this offseason
One of the most difficult aspects of living outside of your favorite franchise’s footprint is the struggle of watching your team on television. Luckily, as divisional rivals, the Lions come to Chicago every year and I can go watch them in person. But when the Lions are not in Chicago, the remaining 15 weeks of the year can become an adventure in just finding a way to watch the team.
Despite significant technological advances it’s still not that easy to watch your favorite team if you live out of state. There are a number of streaming services available, but they are all usually on a significant delay.
For someone like me, who is an obsessive fan, who watches NFL Red Zone during commercials and who uses Twitter during the game, I need to watch my team live or its simply not an enjoyable option. Watching the game on a delay, several plays behind, is brutal. Live is the only way to watch the Lions.
Now, unless things have changed for the upcoming season, the only major cable provider I’m aware of who provides access to every team and every game is DirecTV with Sunday Ticket.
For a couple years, I had a group of fellow Detroit fans who would gather at a friend’s house for the game any given Sunday (or Thursday or Monday). The “Blue Crew” had DirecTV and access to live action. But after a charter member moved to Texas for work I was on my own and thrust into the wild that is the local bar scene. #TheStruggleIsReal