Over The Pylon

*This Post Sponsored by Slingbox*

There was a time when I would faithfully and dutifully take off the Thursday and Friday of the NCAA tournament each and every year. There were times I’d use sick leave and brand it as a “mental health day”, other times I’d just take vacation and revel in the gluttony of wall to wall basketball as somewhere between the pile of wings and frosty cold deliciousness day turned into night and upsets and buzzer beaters left me sated enough to get to bed just to do it all over again the next day.

Like most things in life, though, with evolution comes different priorities and demands and I was forced to make the difficult decision of completing some work projects with my team instead of watching my other team open their tournament play. I expected my first vacation-less tourney Thursday and Friday to be completely squandered. I just KNEW there was going to be something major that I was going to miss. Maybe a 16 would beat a 1. Maybe someone would drop a triple-double on an in-state rival. Maybe something cool would happen that I had no idea could even be a thing. And I was going to miss it all, swimming in a sea of employee performance reviews and paperwork. Enter the Slingbox player.

They say the best things come in small packages and though I am not sure who “they” are nor whether they were specifically talking about the Slingbox M1, but regardless of their intent, the outcome is the same. With this apparatus you are a slave to your set no longer. Have a computer? Have a tablet? Have a smartphone? Then you have access to anything you could watch at home with a Slingbox hooked into your entertainment set up. It really is as simple as that. Hook up your Slingbox to your television, connect it via wifi to your home network (or via ethernet cable if you have a wired option close) and you’re good to go. I sat in my office and watched whichever game I wanted on Thursday. Friday, too. Even changed the channel when the inevitable blowout began. Rather than wonder how I was going to watch the action I only needed to wonder how I was going to keep my boss none the wiser of why I selflessly gave up my Tourney Thursday and Tourney Friday for the betterment of the office. But hey, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, right?

Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking there’s probably some astronomical monthly fee for this service or it’s a pain in the butt to setup or that it’s going to look hideous within your set up. I respect the last concern because I’m an OCD freak about clean lines and things not looking ridiculous in my home. Feast your eyes on the rack with the Slingbox in place…

It is basically unnoticeable and smaller than my cable box. As for your other concerns, pay them no mind. It took less than 10 minutes to set up and there isn’t a fee for computer viewing. It’s worth noting that there is a fee ($15) for the mobile app to be able to view on your tablet or smartphone when you download the app, but it’s money well spent in my opinion. The beauty of this technology is that it lets you watch your home television stations on any device anywhere in the world. If you’re a sports fan it is must have technology and it is most definitely OTP recommended. The Slingbox can even schedule and view DVR recordings, it works with every cable company, and the quality is remarkable and up to full 1080p.

The most awesome thing? Slingbox is also running a current sweepstakes promotion called Madness Cubed. The details…

Slingbox is giving away the ultimate cubicle makeover so you can enjoy the NCAA’s March Madness tournament in style. We’ll come to your office and deliver a truly comfortable chair, your own Slingbox 500, and an epic party meal for you and your office mates. So enter today for a chance to win. PLUS 68 runners-up will win a Slingbox M1 to set themselves up for the big dance. Unbelievable!

How do you do that? By visiting the links above or clicking here. From that link you can also learn more about Slingbox and purchase one for yourself. It truly is amazing technology that in one cleanly designed package renders things like geographic constraint, travel, local blackouts, and competing schedules completely void. And that, sports fans, is a remarkably good thing.

Filed under: Offseason |