Today I read Dr. Z’s annual ratings of football broadcasters and realized that I don’t really have a strong opinion of any of them in particular and that I have a mild distaste for all of them.

Fortunately, I’ve come up with a method of watching football that eliminates the announcers almost entirely. The key is not starting to watch the game at game time. Instead I let about 20 or 30 minutes of the games buffer up on the Tivo, and then I start from the beginning, watching the plays at regular speed and fast forwarding on the slowest speed between plays. It’s quick, and even better, silent. I try to stop in time to see the formation before each play. If I missed something, I just watch the play over and over until I figure it out.

By taking regular breaks during the game to let the Tivo keep its buffer full, I can skip all of the commercials, most of the stuff between plays, and most importantly, the halftime report. Using this method you can watch football games in half the normal airtime and eliminate nearly all of the aggravation.