In the last years of President Nixon, when I
Was a junior, then senior, at Classical High,
My brother* and I watched relig-i-ously
The Bruins of Boston broadcast on TV.
The static and noise our antenna received
In the UHF signal would not be believed.
Our 'rents' television was still black and white,
But we two watched the Bruins play night after night.
Back in '74 and in '73
We could watch every game of the Bruins for free!
To see Phil Esposito and great Bobby Orr
We turned on the TV. That was all. Nothing more.
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An article written by Stephanie Hayes
In the current Atlantic disturbs and dismays.
She reports that, to watch every game of the Knicks,
Unless you resort to prohibited tricks,
The subscriptions you'll need will bewilder you and
Cost you six hundred dollars or even a grand.
You'll require Prime Video, Peacock, and then
Also MSG+ and ESPN.
Entire Subreddits have studied the question:
``Can I watch the Knicks? Please make a suggestion!"
The Redditors' gloomy consensus is "Yes,
The sports-broadcasting sphere is a fragmented mess."
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Of course, this is hardly our biggest concern,
Nonetheless, I consider it troubling to learn
The effect of technology's progress, it seems,
Is that passionate fans cannot follow their teams.
You might think in this era of vast information
Athletics should be an ideal application.
If sports shows succumb to incentives perverse
Might not serious purposes fare even worse?
* My older brother Frank.
This is part of the collection Verses for the Information Age by Ernest Davis