OT: I Actually Need Real Help to Watch the Next Three Games; Checked Bar Locator Already

Submitted by FauxMo on

Let me preface this by saying that I find the "Where do I watch the game in Southern France" threads as annoying as anyone else. I have hammered people for them. But I throw myself on my knees asking for help, as this is truly the only place I know to turn. But, I HAVE ALREADY CHECKED THE BAR LOCATOR THREAD (or at least searched it) and found nothing. That's not surprising, as one of these countries has no bars (it's dry), and the other has only a handful of Americans (though lots of U.S. servicemen and women, which could be my ace in the hole).

Anyway, I will be in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain the next three Saturdays. I strongly doubt I will be able to stream from over there, as it's usually blocked in places like this. And I am not nearly tech-savvy enough to by-pass these things. Does anyone have any ideas of how I can work around this to watch the next three games? An internet trick, some way to by-pass IP address identification that blocks me, or (low chance) some physical location to actually watch the games late night there? Any legitimate advice would be deeply appreciated. 

P.S. This is not a humblebrag. I will be working. I don't want to be there at all; like, 0% desire to be there. It's not romantic or evidence of a cool or exotic lifestyle. It's working in the desert for two weeks without beer or smiles. It's bad, I'm bad, etc. So anyone with REAL ideas, please help...  

EDIT: Maybe I can turn this thread into one that serves a greater good. I have gotten three options I plan to try to get the game from a foreign country that blocks internet access to streaming services:

1. VPN into a stateside network (I've downloaded one and it works, but may download a few more just to have multiple VPN options).

2. CFB Streams on Reddit. I can't really test this until there are games on, but this could be the simplest and best option. 

3. Mate with a local woman and let hijinks ensue. Football somehow will be watched during this... 

HAIL-YEA

September 7th, 2017 at 11:10 AM ^

just test it out, get on whatever streaming service you use with the vpn turned on and make sure it works

Edit: if you dont have a streaming service yet, get the free month of youtube tv, it is by far the smoothest service that will run clean with below average internet.

FauxMo

September 7th, 2017 at 11:42 AM ^

UPDATE: I installed a VPN, connected to a network in "Eastern U.S." and was then able to stream (and do all other internet things) normally. So, this should work the same while I am in KSA, right??? Thanks again, all....

TIMMMAAY

September 7th, 2017 at 12:28 PM ^

It should, but you won't know until you get there. If it were me, I'd go for a paid service (as others suggested below), you can cancel immediately upon return. You should be able to get it done for less than $20, for a good service. 

Or at the least, install a couple different free versions, so your odds of one working would be higher. 

Gulogulo37

September 7th, 2017 at 11:17 PM ^

I know governments can also shut down VPNs, but I don't think Saudi Arabia is too bad about it. I think Bahrain is fairly open from what a friend of mine said. China is starting to go after VPNs. I think Saudi Arabia mostly bans stuff because of sex, not political dissent. A British friend living there couldn't google "Middlesex" in England.

So your VPN should work there but can't be totally sure. I've used Cactus VPN. It's not free but wasn't too much.

You actually may not need a VPN at all. Go to Reddit's cfb streams if you can get on that site in SA. You only need a VPN to get around the government or companies that geo-restrict, not to actually stream.

ctallarico20

September 7th, 2017 at 11:26 AM ^

I'd recommend getting a paid, highly reviewed VPN if possible.  The saying 'if you're not paying for the product, you are the product' certainly applies here - keep in mind how a VPN works: you're sending all your web traffic through a third party - accounts/passwords, browser history, etc.  Also, I'd expect free ones to have lower bandwith making an already third-world connection even slower

julesh

September 7th, 2017 at 12:29 PM ^

Just FYI, in case tunnel bear fails you, DO NOT USE HOLA. Hola's very mission statement that they put in their business plan when trying to get funding is about how they take user's IPs and then let others use them. So the IP you are using can end up with some illegal shit going down on it.

Or something like that. My brother explained it to me once and said stay far away from Hola.

HAIL-YEA

September 7th, 2017 at 10:58 AM ^

put a vpn on your laptop, use it to get a usa ip address, run an hdmi to your tv from the laptop.. stream that shit. Private internet access is one that is very simple to use for beginners, I think its 7 bucks a month.

CRISPed in the DIAG

September 7th, 2017 at 11:02 AM ^

I watched a really bad Tom Hanks movie (Hologram for the King (?)) where he went to Saudi Arabia for work and experienced all sorts of wacky cultural and technical problems. The solution was to have a forbidden love affair with a beautiful Saudi doctor. Fixed.

FauxMo

September 7th, 2017 at 11:30 AM ^

Hatter, you'd hate Saudi Arabia, but you'd LOVE Bahrain, probably more than anyone here. A British expat friend taught me the secret of surviving the bars there - if you don't actually want a hooker, make sure to make ZERO eye contact with any woman you see in any bar anywhere. If you DO make eye contact, you will literally have 25 women at your table haggling over prices... :-D

LSAClassOf2000

September 7th, 2017 at 11:27 AM ^

To be fair, I think we can assume tha Freeze got a caning of some kind - whether it was literally being beaten with a cane or similar object or a mere chewing out which probably stung as much as the caning - when he came home that day. Well, that's assuming that such behavior was not explicitly part of the deal when it came to "family time". 

FauxMo

September 7th, 2017 at 11:14 AM ^

None. Unless you live on a Western compound, where everyone becomes masters at making beer, vodka and/or wine, and then in sneaking the ingredients over the border... 

gopoohgo

September 7th, 2017 at 11:19 AM ^

Probably due to the cheerleaders and/or booze commercials.  

The most conservative country I've been to in ME was Qatar, stayed in the older part of town (closer to the aiport for our butt-crack of dawn flight out the next AM), was really a different experience.