UEFA Champions League and My DVR

Now that the football gods have decided to share their love with satellite broadcasting there is a glut of high-level football to be had from the safety of one’s own home or favorite watering hole. The problem is that time zones, work hours, and weekend plans tend to interfere with one’s ability to sit down and watch games. The biggest example of where all the forces clash to a head is the coverage of European Champions League. Right now it is still in the qualifying stages, and that means tons of games with some of the best clubs from the smaller countries of the UEFA family, who get their chance to shine with some international coverage and battles with some of the more well-known European powerhouses.

I have dutifully told my DVR to record anything and everything. Because the games are mid-week while I am at work in the Eastern time zone, I come home to a DVR filled with games that feature clubs from Greece, Turkey, Switzerland, Bulgaria, the Ukraine, Russia, and the rest of Europe. It’s cool to see all these teams that I never get to watch regularly, but there are too many games!

With nearly all clubs of the world I am a neutral. I tend to root for the underdog, or the team with the coolest uniforms. The problem is that the DVR has too many games and I have no time or patience to watch all the games play out. I just fast-forward until I see a goal and then rewind it a bit. Recently there was a match of Beşiktaş versus Manchester United. I happen to know a  supporter, so theoretically I’d be extra curious to watch the whole match, especially against Man U. Not true; there was lots of fast-forwarding.

What do you, people of the internet, do when you want to watch the game, but might no be super into the teams? Not record? Fast-forward? Youtube search for goals? Only watch the biggest matches in the elimination rounds?