Where to watch Michigan football in Oz?!
As it turns out I'll be in Sydney, Australia for the Michigan versus Ohio game. Obviously I would like to watch the game but I have no idea if that will be possible... I suppose it depends on what channel the game is on (most likely ABC but maybe ESPN) and if any bars/etc. are open at game time... it will most likely be a nooner so that'll be about 2am on Sunday for me.
Anyway, if anyone else has been in this situation and has had success I would love to hear about it. I've watched Michigan games while abroad in the past, but that was in the Caribbean and this time will be much different. I have pretty much resigned myself to settling for mgoblog written content (immediately) and some highlight clips following shortly after.
Thanks in advance for the help!
October 31st, 2011 at 12:21 PM ^
Russell Crowe's house, duh.
October 31st, 2011 at 4:18 PM ^
The game will not be on ESPN just saying.
October 31st, 2011 at 12:22 PM ^
Ask the wizard.
October 31st, 2011 at 1:18 PM ^
Your ruby cleats together three times while saying 'I want to go home' you'll be in the big house.
October 31st, 2011 at 10:55 PM ^
were not at the Illinois game 2010. It goes, "There is no place like the Big House" and "Follow the maize brick road"
November 1st, 2011 at 8:27 AM ^
I was at that game! :0)
October 31st, 2011 at 1:32 PM ^
Maize brick road.
October 31st, 2011 at 12:24 PM ^
You can ask them to change the channel from Ms. Sally's Schoolyard but I don't think that will go over well.
October 31st, 2011 at 7:25 PM ^
Adebisi has a TV in his cell.
October 31st, 2011 at 12:28 PM ^
If the kick is at noon in Ann Arbor, I think that converts to 4am Sunday morning in Sydney. Your best bet is to find a casino with a sportsbook and watch there, but they might not be open all night. Or contact the alumni association (alumni.umich.edu) to see if they have a link to a group in Sydney. Go Blue!
October 31st, 2011 at 2:19 PM ^
http://alumni.umich.edu/get-active/clubs-and-affiliates/international-contacts
Perth – Jeff Froster, [email protected]
Telephone: +61405640016
Australia Facebook
No contact specifically for Sydney, unfortunately.
November 1st, 2011 at 8:28 AM ^
I did find this contact info as well and wrote... just haven't heard back yet. Figured it couldn't hurt to check with the board though.
October 31st, 2011 at 12:31 PM ^
Australian for watching sports from another country.
October 31st, 2011 at 12:33 PM ^
Ok, here goes if game is playing on ESPN or ABC it will probably be online on
ESPN player: http://www.espnplayer.com/espnplayer/ncaa - will cost 14.99 to watch.
if game is on BTN then you can watch it on bigtenticket.com and I think it would cost around $20
if you're thinking of doing it for free then a less reliable choice would be something like Justin.tv , I don't recommned this choice, the first 2 are much more reliable with a ok internet connection.
If the game is on primetime, then there is a slight possibility that it doesn't play on the first, but that would be solved with watching ESPN at any of the hotels or bars, but that rarely happens and even when its on primetime you usually have it online too an example would be the MSU-UM game where it was on both.. Don't worry, you can watch the game live in Sydney, enjoy..
October 31st, 2011 at 12:37 PM ^
...is a rarity in Australia. The only place I found it in Sydney was the McDonald's in Circular Qauy, and then it would probably be too slow to support a live stream. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Maybe someone more frequently local there has other suggestions.
October 31st, 2011 at 12:47 PM ^
i am in Perth, Australia right now and have been for the entire season. I have used the free streams from the liveblog (firstrowsports.tv or vipbox.tv) and these work pretty well for the most part.
Like others have said, Internet is not free in Australia so you will have to pay if you decide to watch on the computer through streaming.
If you wanted to go the bar route I haven't had any success in Perth with finding the games. Most of the bars close early around Perth (around 12 a.m.) so it doesn't make sense for me. The time difference would make it 3 a.m. in Sydney so I don't even know if the bars would be open.
So your best bet is probably to use your laptop and pay for Internet and try to stream the game (ESPN doesn't work for me).
Hope this helps.
October 31st, 2011 at 12:50 PM ^
The Sports Bar
111 Darlinghurst Rd
Kings Cross NSW 2011
I watched a game here years ago and I think it's still around. Don't expect anything fancy as far as the bar or the area.
October 31st, 2011 at 1:23 PM ^
Are you in prison?
October 31st, 2011 at 1:28 PM ^
I thought you meant Kansas.
October 31st, 2011 at 1:46 PM ^
Awesome. Thanks for the suggestions. Kings Cross is fine... I don't mind the shadiness of the area as long as i can find the game. But it sounds like internet is a real possibility so that is good.
October 31st, 2011 at 2:07 PM ^
I'll 2nd the King Cross suggestion. There is a nice sports bar there that shows a good deal of football games often a bit time delayed. And when there isn't a good game on, there is plenty to do and see as the area never sleeps.
October 31st, 2011 at 2:11 PM ^
Slingbox.
October 31st, 2011 at 2:26 PM ^
it's like espn3 for overseas - and you have to pay an exorbitant amount - but it's how I watch in Japan
October 31st, 2011 at 3:01 PM ^
I am in New Zealand now and watched the Purdue game at a little motel by the beach on the Coromandel Peninsula. I first tried espn3 and got redirected to something called 'sky' which is, apparently, the sports channel here. After a bit of panic, I found espnplayer and it worked pretty well.
Internet was free at that motel and at the first hotel where I stayed in Auckland (The Quadrant). I am now at The Pullman Hotel and they charge about $25/USD/day/device for internet.. I am heading to Sydney tomorrow and will be at the Sydney Harbor Marriott for the game this week, so I can let you know how that goes..
November 1st, 2011 at 8:43 AM ^
I'm looking forward to the report! I hope you're able to watch the game.
November 6th, 2011 at 4:02 PM ^
I watched the Iowa game yesterday (11/5/2011) at 3 am here in Sydney after hitting the clubs with my wife. It has been about 25 years since I pulled an all-nighter.
I ended up watching the game at my hotel, the Marriott Sydney Harbour, on firstrowsports.tv. It wasn't HD by any means, but it was better than nothing. The only strange thing about firstrowsports is that their site seems to put transparent pop-ups over the player controls, so you have to dismiss those windows before you can maximize the picture. It also cuts in/out a bit but wasn't too bad.
As far as internet goes, as a Marriott Rewards member, internet at the hotel is free. I also found free wireless much more available here in Sydney than in Auckland. Further, I was in Vevey, Switzerland last December and the internet there was incredibly expensive, so I found Sydney to have much better connectivity.
As for the other services, I tried a few. ESPN3 is redirected to an Australian ESPN3 site and then requires a local cable provider login. ESPNPlayer isn't available in Australia. Finally, I purchased a package on bigtenticket.com and, despite the game being on their 'schedule', the game feed never came through. Further, their tech support chat was pathetic.
Finally, the game sucked over here just as much as it did in Ann Arbor (or Huntsville).
Tim
October 31st, 2011 at 2:47 PM ^
Good luck IronDMK! I've lived in Australia for a few stretches of time - the lack of free wifi & cheap coffee nearly killed me. I did love the people though, & the country has a special place in my heart. Last time I was there I saw a kid walking around with Michigan gear on! I'm sure he was an aussie though, & he probably didn't know much about the school he was wearing. I didn't bother him about it.
October 31st, 2011 at 5:21 PM ^
I was there in '05 and designer Ohio shirts were in fashion. It was odd.
October 31st, 2011 at 7:41 PM ^
Welcome to Oz . . . I've been living in Cairns in Far North QLD for 1 1/2 years now. Not a lot of UM fans here . . . or coverage. I've got free-to-air so am forced to get a subscription to Big Ten Ticket that allows me to watch F'ball and B'ball instantly if on BTN (and ESPN, I think). ABC games are broadcast with a time delay (12 hours, I think). The quality is pretty good. Another poster suggested an ESPN service, I don't know if that's available or what quality (I'll check it out myself). You can also try first row sports (http://www.firstrowsports.tv/). It works pretty well - bit of delay (probably reflects crappy broadband in FNQ) and you've got a wide selection of sports. There's also myp2p which has been less reliable for me (http://www.myp2p.pe/). Both first row and myp2p require you to close frequent ads that pop up and I'm advised you should never go to those ads (risky). Otherwise, pubs and casinos are a good bet - try the casino near Luna Park on the north shore . . . never went there but it looks like it would be well stocked.
So what suburb are you in? I lived for several months in Rose Bay and then Stratford before we emigrated to Cairns. Nice town . . . a bit congested and expensive but fantastic beaches, waves & water and good dining. Let me know if you're ever coming up to FNQ (the Reef, Daintree, etc - it's pretty spectacular).
Cheers and GO BLUE!
November 1st, 2011 at 8:41 AM ^
I was in Australia back in 1998 for a study abroad and again at the 2000/2001 transition (centennary of federation, which was cool!). Spent most of the time at Macquarie Uni in North Ryde but traveled as much as possible for the study abroad. I did get to Cairns for a week to do some diving and absolutely love it! I would love to get back up there but I don't think it'll happen this time. I think we'll be in the Sydney area most of the time, hopefully get down to Melbourne as I have a couple friends living there. I won't arrive until about 7:30am on Nov 26 (Sat) so I may not be able to even stay up for the game if it's not delayed. We will get about 9 days and then head over to Auckland for a conference (the actual reason for my trip). But it's been nearly 11 years since I've been down there so I'm really getting excited!! Thanks again for the suggestions!