Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Big Ten Network's The Journey disappoints

So I put the kiddo's to bed last night and turned on Illinois Football: The Journey on The Big Ten Network. Disappointment in the team's recent performance aside, I was generally disappointed in the Big Ten Network's coverage.

To be sure, I'm glad Coach Zook agreed to allow BTN access and considering how far we've come the past few years it's only going to help the program's profile.

However, I have two main gripes. One small. One big. The small one: The team just finished its third game of the season and the first ten minutes of the program was film of the Missouri game. That was the first game of the year. Hello? I realize it takes time to edit film and get a package together but I did not need to see a rehash of our first game of the year. Especially since it was a loss.

Which brings me to my second point. I was looking for more "behind the scenes" footage rather than footage of the game with Illini Sports Network sound. There was some sideline stuff with the coaches and players but nothing ESPN or anyone else wouldn't be able to show.

The second half of the show focused on the Renaissance and all the legends coming back for the Eastern game. There was some good stuff about the throwback uniforms, some footage of the suites and renovation and the ceremony honoring the greats, including Butkus but that was it.

BTN is in its infancy so hopefully as the season goes on, this show gets better. It's a great idea. BTN just needs to perfect it.

Incidentally, there is more footage on the BTN site here.

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# posted by Chief : 8:29 AM


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