Hawaii 49, Northwestern 41

Northwestern played its final football game of the season on Saturday night in Hawaii. The game wasn't on television in our area. I figured I would just check the score on the internet -- until my parents called and left a message on the answering machine. They upgraded to digital cable just so they could order the ESPN "Game Plan" ($20 for the weekend) and watch the game. By the way, this game started at 10 p.m. Central Standard Time. I was dumbfounded at why my parents would spend so much to see two unranked college teams play football. When I called back and asked my mother what led them to spending $20+ to watch the game, she said something to the effect of: "It's less expensive than traveling to Hawaii." She's right.

So, Jenelle and I made the 5.1-mile journey to my parents' house to watch the game. We turned on channel 891 just before 10 p.m. We soon discovered that the feed was coming from channel 5 in Hawaii, also known as "K5". Both announcers had Hawaiian shirts on, and we could tell that they weren't the most exciting announcers in the world. As the teams lined up for the opening kickoff, I had a feeling that watching this game would be an experience like no other.

Part 2 of this story coming soon...