By GARY DEMUTH

Salina Journal

Dr. Larry Beck didn't subscribe to the NFL Network to see the football team from his alma mater, the University of Kansas, play in the Insight Bowl.

It was just a happy coincidence that it was part of the sports package that allowed his wife, Judy, to tune into hockey games.

"We got the sports tier so she could watch Redwing hockey games on the VERSUS network," said Beck, a doctor of oncology at the Tammy Walker Cancer Center, 511 S. Santa Fe. "It's a bonus to have the NFL network in the package."

Especially when the diehard KU sports fan discovered it was the only network on which tonight's game would be shown, a network available only to Cox Communications digital service subscribers.

"I guess I'd be upset if I didn't have (the NFL Network) and found out," Beck said.

As it is, Beck plans to watch the game from his home with family members. For other KU fans and alumni eager to watch their college football team trounce (they hope) Minnesota, they'll have to settle for watching it at a subscribing friend or family member's home, at a sports bar that carries the network, or they can just pony up and purchase the Cox sports tier before the game begins.

There's still time

According to Sarah Kauffman, director of public relations for Cox Communications in Wichita, Cox offices are open until 4 p.m. today, so the digital sports tier can be ordered up to an hour before the 5 p.m. game start. The cost is an extra $5 a month.

But there's a catch: you already have to subscribe to digital cable.

Kauffman declined to say just how many local football fans had subscribed to the sports tier during the past year, but she did say it was one of their most popular and requested packages.

"There's been a steady increase in demand for sports programming, especially in HD (high definition)," she said.

Nonsubscribing Kansas fans aren't alone in their digital grief. Monday's Texas Bowl game between Rice University and Western Michigan also was broadcast on the NFL Network.

Could be good for bars

Those without digital services will be forced to look elsewhere to get their KU football fix, which means potentially bigger profits for local bar owners such as Kevin Rome, owner of the Paramount Bar, 219 N. Santa Fe.

Rome plans to show the game on multiple television screens at the bar. When the game ends about 9 p.m., New Year's Eve festivities will continue with a concert by local rock band, The Soul Preachers.

"A lot of my regulars will be down here watching it anyway, and I think other people will come out earlier because they don't have the channel in their home," he said. "It works out great for the bar."

But other than special occasions like this, Rome said, he really doesn't tune into the NFL Network that much.

"I'll use it once or twice a month, but during the summertime it's not used at all," he said. "It gets used for about five big games a year, then it's off the rest of the year."

Driving to Lawrence

Salinan Bill Grammer, who graduated from KU in 1990, is driving to Lawrence with his brother to watch the game at his parents' home. Grammer said his father hadn't subscribed to the NFL Network but changed his mind after finding out about the KU game.

"I guess their marketing works," said Grammer, a mortgage loan officer at Bank VI, 2020 S. Ohio.

Grammer said he'll support KU football no matter where he goes to see them play.

"I do think KU is better than what people think they are," he said. "It hurt us to play all those great (Big 12) South teams, but I think we'll beat Minnesota."

Meanwhile, at the game

For the second year in a row, Salinan Larry Strahan is bypassing television, digital or otherwise, to see the game in person. Last year, he was in Florida to witness KU's emotional victory at the Orange Bowl. On Sunday, he and his family drove to Tempe, Ariz., the site of the Insight.Com Bowl.

Strahan, owner of Servicemaster of Salina, 522 Reynolds, said it's too bad fans have to subscribe to the NFL Network to see the KU game.

"You don't make that many bowl games, and back-to-back bowl games is significant," said Strahan, a 1969 KU graduate. "It's a nice reward for the kids and for KU football."

For Strahan, who purchased seats on the 30-yard line, attending the game in person is his way of showing support for a team he's been loyal to, through good times and bad, for nearly 40 years.

"I've been a KU football fan all my life, even through the hard times," he said. "I think we're going in the right direction now. We're favored in the game, and I like our chances. When you give (KU coach) Mangino time to prepare his team, they're going to be hard to beat."

nReporter Gary Demuth can be reached at 822-1405 or by e-mail at gdemuth@salina.com.

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says....
My husband is VERY disappointed he can't watch the Jayhawks on tv for the Insight Bowl. We live in Sylvan Grove and subscribe to digital cable through Wilson Telephone.
12/31/2008

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