Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Fans Voices program and have been provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.
When I was in high school, NFL Network happened. As a young sports fan eager to learn all I could about football, I got into it in a hurry. It helped that my parents had the spiffy expanded cable that included channels like that. I watched every Top Ten special they had, watched America's Game, saw NFL Total Access every night. I took it all in.
Fast forward to 2009. The Steelers were fresh off a Super Bowl win, the Penguins brought home the Stanley Cup, and a young high school graduate named Brian was moving out of his parents' house to go off to college. I was without the level of football I was accustomed to, and it was difficult. That's when I started writing for Blitzburgh though, so I managed to stay immersed in the sport. But I got used to not having NFL Network.
Fast forward again. I pretty much fell face-first into a kick-awesome deal from Verizon that included a Droid Maxx and NFL Mobile. Now, NFL Mobile includes NFL Network streaming, and quickly I have fallen back in love with it. Despite their abysmal on-air talent (Michael Irvin, Jamie Dukes, and Warren Sapp should not be on television ever again), I still find myself watching it in my downtime. I have a nice little phone stand that holds up my Droid at a wonderful viewing angle on my desk, and I just leave NFL Network running while I sit here doing whatever it is I do.
This is the phone that has that commercial where the guy and his hot girlfriend take a speedboat to a tiny private island when the guy says his phone has two days of battery life. I've yet to receive my supermodel, speedboat, or private island, but that battery life claim is legit. I charge my phone every night when I go to bed, and I've never seen my battery percentage drop below 68. Meanwhile, my girlfriend's iPhone may have never gone above 40. So when I say I set my phone on my desk and watch NFL Network for a good portion of the day, I'm serious. The 4G coverage can be a little spotty when streaming HD video (understandably), but I'm usually on wifi at home so it's no big deal.
It's been a tough season to be a Steeler fan, but as a football fan in general, NFL Network has been a wonderful companion thus far.
