Post by Skaggs on Nov 29, 2007 12:33:17 GMT -5
Packers-Cowboys? Belly up to the bar
Spots with NFL Network expect to do well tonight
By MATT RYBALTOWSKI, Special to the Times Union
First published: Thursday, November 29, 2007
Derrick D'Amico and fellow cheeseheads of the Packers Backers -- an area Green Bay Packers fan club -- typically gather each week at Cheers Roadhouse Grill in Albany to pull for their favorite team. But tonight, as D'Amico's team faces the Dallas Cowboys for the top spot in the NFC, the Backers will likely share the bar with more of their opponents' loyalists than usual.
That's because the game being shown on the NFL Network will not be available to local subscribers of Time Warner Cable. The cable provider is in a contract dispute with the network over whether it should be added as a premium service or be offered free of charge.
The winner in the imbroglio is local area sports bars that subscribe to the DirecTV Sunday NFL Ticket. Several of the gathering spots have been bombarded with calls all week from desperate fans that are unable to watch the matchup from their usual confines at home.
"We've been taking reservations all week," said Jim Crocetto, owner of the 4-month-old Tailgators in Clifton Park. "It helps all the businesses out and gets revenue for the area. Why be home when you can be drinking and eating at a bar with beautiful waitresses having a fun time?"
Other locales such as The Stadium Cafe in Saratoga Springs have witnessed a spike in business during the Thursday night games in the past.
"We've been drawing a pretty big crowd," said Amy Tiorkowski, a manager at the cafe. "If you look at the numbers, we've had extra staffing on those Thursdays."
Representatives reached at Time Warner Cable say carrying the network drives up the rates of all of their subscribers and proposed to offer it as part of an additional package. Meanwhile, the network claims it will only cost subscribers an additional "two cents a day" to include it in the basic package, according to its Web site.
"We're predicated on the games not being on local television, but we're trying to get as many people as we can to the bar," said D'Amico, head of the more than 20-year-old group that contains roughly 350 Packers fans. "The Packers are the smallest community in America with a professional team -- we are America's team."
Rybaltowski is a freelance writer.
Spots with NFL Network expect to do well tonight
By MATT RYBALTOWSKI, Special to the Times Union
First published: Thursday, November 29, 2007
Derrick D'Amico and fellow cheeseheads of the Packers Backers -- an area Green Bay Packers fan club -- typically gather each week at Cheers Roadhouse Grill in Albany to pull for their favorite team. But tonight, as D'Amico's team faces the Dallas Cowboys for the top spot in the NFC, the Backers will likely share the bar with more of their opponents' loyalists than usual.
That's because the game being shown on the NFL Network will not be available to local subscribers of Time Warner Cable. The cable provider is in a contract dispute with the network over whether it should be added as a premium service or be offered free of charge.
The winner in the imbroglio is local area sports bars that subscribe to the DirecTV Sunday NFL Ticket. Several of the gathering spots have been bombarded with calls all week from desperate fans that are unable to watch the matchup from their usual confines at home.
"We've been taking reservations all week," said Jim Crocetto, owner of the 4-month-old Tailgators in Clifton Park. "It helps all the businesses out and gets revenue for the area. Why be home when you can be drinking and eating at a bar with beautiful waitresses having a fun time?"
Other locales such as The Stadium Cafe in Saratoga Springs have witnessed a spike in business during the Thursday night games in the past.
"We've been drawing a pretty big crowd," said Amy Tiorkowski, a manager at the cafe. "If you look at the numbers, we've had extra staffing on those Thursdays."
Representatives reached at Time Warner Cable say carrying the network drives up the rates of all of their subscribers and proposed to offer it as part of an additional package. Meanwhile, the network claims it will only cost subscribers an additional "two cents a day" to include it in the basic package, according to its Web site.
"We're predicated on the games not being on local television, but we're trying to get as many people as we can to the bar," said D'Amico, head of the more than 20-year-old group that contains roughly 350 Packers fans. "The Packers are the smallest community in America with a professional team -- we are America's team."
Rybaltowski is a freelance writer.
