Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 25, 2021 5 FAN FORUM TERRIBLE VIEWING EXPERIENCE What possessed ND and NBC to exclusively broadcast a home game through the Peacock streaming service? It is wrong on two levels. First, it sends a bad message about ND's commitment to the fans. The broadcast is only available to those with strong Wi-Fi, a streaming device, and the willingness to subscribe and pay for Peacock Premium. This may not seem like a big deal, until you realize that this leaves out those without the assets or means to watch, i.e., the poor and mar- ginalized. This smacks of pandering to the elitist and privileged at a time when ND should be open and inclusive to all. Second, the Peacock streaming is a terrible viewing experience. Most sports fans now have a TV or cable sys- tem where programs can be recorded, paused and reversed. None of this is available on Peacock. The viewer must sit through all the commercials and de- lays in the game. Further, the picture can be fuzzy and disrupted from Wi-Fi buffering. I certainly will not be watching any more games on Peacock, and this ex- perience has given NBC and ND a black eye. Here's hoping there is enough backlash that they won't repeat this stunt. Richard Havel '68 Los Angeles RUFFLED FEATHERS Please let NBC know that the Peacock Network ruffled a lot of feathers. I know I was very disappointed in the limitations of the network. Like many longtime Irish fans, I guess I'm spoiled by the NBC coverage. And, I really enjoy the DVR ability to record, pause, rewind or even speed up a game. Peacock did not allow any of those 21st century benefits of viewership. Hopefully the Toledo game was just an experiment that will never be used again. Go Irish! Pat Furey Torrance, Calif. BE HEARD! Send your letters to: Letters Blue & Gold Illustrated P. O. Box 1007, Notre Dame, IN 46556 or e-mail to: sdowney@comanpub.com FROM THE WEB Following the dazzling debut of freshman Tyler Bu- chner — seven rushing attempts for 68 yards and 3-of-3 passing for 78 yards and a touchdown — against Toledo Sept. 11, there was plenty of debate on what the future held for Notre Dame's quarter- back position. Graduate student Jack Coan was also off to a strong start — averaging 302.5 yards and three touchdowns in the first two contests — but most Irish fans believed a timeshare at the position was worth considering. Here's a sampling of opinions from our Blueand- Gold.com message board: smcnd: This is exactly what I said in another thread. They can absolutely co-exist because they both have the same end goal — seeing ND win. This is nothing like Zaire/Kizer. kwsusmc: This is, though not exactly, closer to Rees/Golson than Kizer/Zaire, by far. The thing that caught my attention was the staff seemed very confident in TB. His first live game- action snap in over two years was inside our own 5. Then the staff puts him out there with 7-ish minutes left and a two-point lead. He leads what would be the game-icing drive for several snaps before JC comes in to the eventual fumble inside the Rockets 30. That, my friends is confidence in the young man's abilities. jerbach: It seems like a number of schools are us- ing two quarterbacks, whether that is called a system or not. As long as the objective is winning I am fine with that. ODommer: This is Notre Dame's 2021 version of the Wildcat that Florida employed featuring Tim Tebow on their way to a National Championship … They most always used it in the red zone and Tebow had the option to throw if a teammate was open … I really like using TB, no matter down and distance. JOIN THE CONVERSATION! GET A 30-DAY FREE TRIAL WITH CODE BGI30 Graduate student Jack Coan (left) and freshman Tyler Buchner could provide the Fighting Irish with a potent one-two punch at quarterback for the remainder of the season. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER