Watching Michigan football in Dublin/Liverpool
I will be traveling through Europe for a couple weeks during the UConn week and the bye week (best way to schedule travel in the fall). I will be in dublin or Liverpool on Sept 21 when we play UCONN. Assuming the game will be on ESPN or ESPN2, does anyone have any clue on Pubs that will be showing the game? I really don't want to take a computer out with me for the night and try to watch it on ESPN3. Thanks for the insight in advance.
Maybe they will be showing Michigan soccer.
Local pubs will only have the other football on, as well as hurling.
I would call ahead to the American hotels like the Four Seasons, etc. You can call toll free and get put through to the bars, and ask the lads/lasses on site.
I would also check to see if the US ambassador is a UM alum. Maybe you can invite yourself over!
I watched the UM/ND game in Paris a couple of years ago via slingbox and Wi-Fi. It was adequate, but I would not count on a robust bandwidth connection over there.
When I was there in 2011, I don't remember looking for it specifically, but I can't remember finding ESPN anywhere we stayed, of which one hotel actually was the Four Seasons Dublin. I do know this though, if you stay there, ask the concierge and they will absolutely bend over backwards until they find you a place to see the game. The staff at the Ritz Carlton powerscourt was the same way.
My concern would be that most pubs/bars aren't like what we're used to here. They might have a TV on, but not 75 like American bars, and that one will probably be devoted to footie.
Maybe an iPad with BTN2go?
It was very hard to find non-championship games in bars, I suggest sucking it up and just streaming the game on your computer from a locale with a solid internet connection
but it's not like this is Michigan - Michigan State or The Game. Nothing against UConn, but this should be a definite W for the good guys. Pop an earbud in one ear, and listen to the game while you travel Europe. Make the most of this great opportunity! Watch a full game replay when you get back.
As stated in other posts, Frank and Jim are a good listen.
MGOBLOG REPRESENT IN EUROPE! GO BLUE!
Firstrowsports.eu is what I used over in the Czech when they weren't the game of the week...
Man ... Watching a NCAA game on TV in Europe is tough.
You'll have a chance in american bar is ESPN America broadcast it, they show three-four games every saturday if Michigan-UConn is at noon and there's no big matchups you'll have a chance.
I was in Dublin for the UM vs ND game in 2010, there and if you can find a sports bar with a lot of TV's they will probably put one on to ESPN America for you. However, they only show one game at a time due to it being the only channel (had to watch OSU vs Miami), so doubtful that it will be the UCONN game. Check this link as well for locations, its used to be updated regularly.
http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/um-friendly-bar-locations-across-us-and-elsewhere
Also, I asked this question on another site as well, here's the response.
http://www.maizenbrew.com/2010/8/20/1634211/michigan-bar-in-dublin
You are likely to be out of luck as far as watching it on TV locally. ESPN has agreed to sell their UK and Ireland channels (ESPN and ESPN America) to BT Sport after they lost out on the Premier League rights. ESPN will cease broadcasting in the UK and Ireland on 31 July.
As part of the sale agreement, BT Sport has acquired all of the broadcast rights currently in ESPN's UK and Ireland portfolio. BT Sport will also operate one ESPN branded channel but it remains to be seen whether BT Sport will attempt to broadcast the "American" sports in the ESPN portfolio. They may just rely on the French, German, Italian and Russian football rights ESPN has.
I would check the BT Sport website nearer the time of your trip to see if they are broadcasting NCAA football and whether they are showing the game. If so, look for bars that advertise they have BT Sport. You might also want to check Eurosport as they have, in the past, had one B1G game per week.
If other technological solutions aren't available, you can get a one day subscription to ESPN Player (ESPN3 in Europe) for GBP 8.99 (about $14) which, I think, gets you 24 hours access to live and on-demand events.
If BTN have the US broadcast rights, then all bets are off.
I live in Scotland. As discussed above, you can sometimes find UM games on ESPN America. The match against UConn seems unlikely to be one such fixture. Even if it is on, there are few pubs in Ireland or the UK that subscribe to ESPN America and even fewer who do who are also likely to put an NCAA football game on the TV at 5pm on an autumn afternoon. 5pm is for soccer results and there's usually an English premiership game on then too. (Possible exception: London which, because it is so vast will have somewhere you can watch the game. If it is on.)
Your best bet, frankly, is to watch online via a stream of dubious legality. Not perfect but, in my considerable experience, generally just-about-good-enough. Most UM games can usually be found at stream2watch.me
Not as good as watching it on "proper telly" but better than not being able to see it at all.