Can't We All Just Live On TIVO Time?

The Celtics won the 2008 NBA Finals - just a couple of hours after it actually happened.  In my TIVO Time reality, I'm cheering long after rowdy Boston fans got kicked out of the bars on Beacon Street.  TIVO Time is the window of time between when a live sporting event has ended and when a person has finished watching the recording of it.

TIVO Time allows me to watch the game at my convenience and skip commercials and boring halftime shows. I am able to watch more sports than I did before, and meet up with friends who share my same TIVO Time schedule.  The downside of course is not everyone lives on TIVO Time.

Just this afternoon, a work colleague suddenly broke the news of the Germany / Turkey EURO 2008 semi-final, which was a game that I was eagerly anticipating to watch later. While EURO 2008 is no NBA Finals, World Series, or Superbowl, I am trying to show a little cultural respect for my European brethren.  I responded with "TIVO Time," cupped my ears, and walked away hurriedly.   

During every Celtics / Lakes game of the NBA Finals, I stayed clear of sports news, work colleagues who may have even a slight interest in basketball, and my Blackberry phone, especially any calls or texts from 617 or 310 area codes.  I felt like I was constantly living in an alternate universe time-shifted by a few hours.

While I am not advocating a Bill of Rights, I would like to request sensitivity when sharing the news of a recent sporting event.  For example, please kindly probe first of whether the people around you have watched a sporting event that occured recently, certainly in the last few hours and possibly even the night before for maximum coverage!

Some of you may argue that TIVO Time takes away from the spontaneous camaraderie that we share in discussing the results of a recent sports event.  Or that TIVO Time disconnects that joyous feeling that we get watching that last minute field goal split the uprights and knowing that everyone else just watched it as well. However, if we just all agree to set our watches back by the same amount of time, let's say 3.5 hours, then those problems disappear.

TIVO Time is the first step in taking control of your life.  You can set your own schedule, and make your sports television experience as efficient as possible.  But until everyone operates a few hours behind, TIVO Timers like us will need to side-step the current reality. Make your voice heard, and add your comments below as a petition for TIVO Time!