People love sports – it’s why they’re so popular. From Europe to Asia, there are millions of passionate sports fans who all have their favorite teams and athletes who they follow. Just recently, the 2022 Super Bowl took place and drew in a staggering 112 million viewers, which tells you one thing: sports are incredibly entertaining.
Naturally, though, it’s impossible to attend every sports game that you want to. For example, if you live in LA, you might be a fan of the LA Lakers (the biggest basketball team in the world). However, LA Lakers tickets are expensive and usually sell out fast, making it very difficult for normal people to attend.
So, this raises a question: what are the best ways to follow sports games when you can’t watch them?
Luckily, this guide is going to address this question in detail. Right now, there are so many ways you can follow games without having a television display – so make sure to read ahead.
Follow Odds on Sportsbooks
First of all, you need to know about Top Online Sportsbooks.
Sportsbooks provide you with instant odds and updates that keep users up-to-date with in-game action and score lines – basically, all the important details.
If you make an account, you can leave it running in the background and check it whenever you need to; whether you’re walking outside or relaxing at home.
Listen to Radio Commentary
Next, you can go old-school by listening to radio commentary.
In the eyes of many people, radio commentary is a dated medium. However, there are now lots of modern and new radio stations – such as ESPN Radio – that you can turn on and listen to no matter where you are. Plus, radio stations are free to listen to, meaning you don’t have to worry about paying any expensive membership fees.
So, depending on which sport and team you follow, you will have to Google the best radio station for you. From there, you can then download their app from your smartphone app store (remember, most modern-day radio stations now come with downloadable apps – which means you don’t need to use any old 1990s radios!).
Radio commentary is perfect for fans who want to stay up-to-date with all the little details, from in-game events to the thoughts of the commentators.
Tune into YouTube’ Watch-alongs’
If you love sports and have a YouTube account, then you probably know all about YouTube’ watch-alongs’.
Watch-along is when people Livestream themselves watching sports games from their homes or studios.
Basically, it’s like radio commentary – the big difference being that it’s done by fans instead and is more humorous and engaging for people to watch.
For example, if you live in the UK and enjoy football (soccer), then AFTV (Arsenal Fan TV) is a channel you should definitely check out. AFTV has a huge roster of fans that join in on watch-along which are known for being entertaining and hilarious. In fact, AFTV has gained a reputation for showcasing fan meltdowns every week when they aren’t happy with how their team is playing, so make sure to give it a try.
Hopefully, depending on which team you support, there should be a watch-along channel for you to follow.
Follow your Team on Twitter
Every major sports team on the planet is active on social media. The main reasons for this are:
- Fan engagement
- To provide instant updates to followers
Whenever a game is taking place, teams will tweet score updates (and other in-game events) for followers to read within seconds. Therefore, if you haven’t already, it’s highly recommended that you follow your favorite team (or teams) on Twitter and turn on the notifications bell for when they tweet.
Also, Twitter is an excellent platform for expressing your opinion on different sports games, so don’t be afraid to let the public domain know what you’re thinking. If you’re creative and insightful with your thoughts, you might even be able to make one of your tweets go viral!
Subscribe to Subreddits
Reddit subreddits are also another great tool for following sports games that you can’t watch.
For example, if you follow the Green Bay Packers, you should subscribe to their r/GreenBayPackers. In this subreddit, there’s always a live game thread when a game is taking place. Here, you can read the comments and updates provided by fellow fans, which enables you to stay updated with what’s happening.
Plus, if you have any opinions or questions about your team, you can use your subreddit as an opportunity to fire them off and engage with other fans.
Download Sports Apps
Next, you can download sports apps to your smartphone.
In the world of football, Sky Sports are known for having an excellent app that provides score updates from all the major football leagues, including The Premier League and LaLiga.
Sports apps are incredibly convenient, as most of them allow you to choose which specific team (or teams) you want to receive in-game updates from. This way, your smartphone won’t continuously get pinged with updates from teams you have no interest or investment in.
Ask your Friends to Keep Up-to-Date
Last but not least, you can ask your friends to keep you up-to-date.
Let’s say you have a best friend who attends all the LA Lakers games. One week, you can’t make it – which is obviously going to frustrate you (for example, you might have work or social commitments). However, as a solution, all you need to do is ask your friend to keep you updated via text or instant messaging. Plus, if you’re an overly emotional fan, you can request them not to update you when your team is losing – at least this way, your day won’t be ruined!
Also, if it’s possible, you could actually facetime with your friend while he or she is at the game. If they’re good at controlling their smartphone camera, they’ll be able to flip it around to the front camera to show you some of the action that’s taking place.