Across the country tomorrow, one of the most exciting days on the college wrestling calendar will take place. Seven conference tournaments will determine most of the 330 wrestlers who will compete in the NCAA Division I Championships in St. Louis two weeks from now. The Pac 12 had their tournament last week and wild cards will be announced after all the qualifiers are completed.
I have attended both qualifying tournaments as well as the NCAAs. While the nationals are obviously the pinnacle of the collegiate system, the qualifiers can sometimes provide more exciting action than some rounds at the NCAAs with the brass ring of qualification out there. Unfortunately, wrestling fans will get to see very little of that excitement tomorrow.
I’m worrying most about the Big Ten Championships since I most closely follow Penn State. The conference has one of the best video packages available for their tournament. Unfortunately, that’s not saying much. The Big Ten Network will broadcast the finals live on Sunday, but all of Saturday’s competition – probably more compelling than the finals – will be streamed online with a subscription of one of the various “all access” passes available through the conference or conference institutions.
So if I want to see any of Saturday evening’s epic semifinal bouts or key consolation matches which could determine whether a wrestler will qualify for nationals, I need to pay at least $9.99 and watch on my computer.
Before I rail about my problems with both of those factors, I need to admit that I am indeed one of those people who gets angry when people complain that don’t get access to every form of entertainment on their terms and at their price. I might even be forced to make fun of myself for this one. But there’s a big difference between wanting free access to everything ESPN and CNN do without any restrictions or cost and wishing that a sport desperately trying to raise its national profile would find a way to make its broadcasts more readily available.
At least two conferences will show free online video of their whole tournament this weekend. The ACC has a feed on ESPN3 (which amazes me) and the Southern Conference will broadcast on SoConTV, which offers free registration. I couldn’t find any really detailed info on other live coverages, although The Open Mat website indicates it will show the EIWA and Big 10 tournaments live and free. We’ll see if that happens.
UPDATE: The Big 12 Digital Network looks like it will show the semis and consolations live and free online. The Big 12 finals are broadcast on Fox Sports regional networks, usually on tape delay.
If I can watch the Big 10s tomorrow free via The Open mat, my disappointment will dissipate a little. But the conference should lead the way here. I know they have a pricing model for all their coverage and would probably not mind paying if they actually attempted to market and show some commitment to the event. This is the premier wrestling conference event of the year, yet they just treat it as an afterthought. That’s insulting to wrestling fans. This is a special event – treat it as such.
Then there’s the web-only issue. I don’t get too up in arms about this because I realize streaming video is the future for sports like wrestling. I just wonder if only streaming on your website is the future. I’m not shy about how much I love my Roku player. Some people (like USA Wrestling) have apps for their video, but more groups streaming wrestling need to consider developing a Roku channel so fans can watch on their TV instead of on a computer monitor.
So I will probably spend $10 on Saturday after navigating the Big 10 Network website to get the all access pass for the month so I can sit in front of my computer and watch some of the action when I really wish I could go to my Roku and watch a feed for each mat. Like I said, I don’t mind paying for it. The event just shouldn’t be an afterthought.