Early Impressions of the SEC Network

Dec 7, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Auburn Tigers cornerback Chris Davis (11) holds up the SEC sign after the 2013 SEC Championship game against the Missouri Tigers at Georgia Dome. The Auburn Tigers defeated the Missouri Tigers 59-42. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Liles-USA TODAY Sports

August 14, 2014 felt like Christmas Day for much of the Southeast. The SEC Network made its debut across almost every single major television service provider. I unfortunately was not able to see the launch when it happened at 5:00 Tuesday afternoon. I was able to see the SEC Storied: The Stars are Aligned and SEC Now. My first impressions is that SEC fans are going to get exactly what they want: SEC to the tenth power.

The SEC Storied: The Stars are Aligned presented a celebrity from each school reminiscing about their school and why they love and pull for the teams that they do. Some of the people that were included were Darius Rucker for South Carolina, Shepard Smith for Ole Miss, James Carville for LSU, and Ashley Judd for Kentucky among others. Mississippi State was represented by Jonathan Papelbon.

Was it a good show? It was basically what you would expect from a show of this type. Everyone was heaping gobs of praise on their school, and talking trash about their rivals. Shepard Smith spent some time talking about how Mississippi State was a minor annoyance to Ole Miss while they were the Super Bowl to Mississippi State. While he was saying that, the network showed Jonathan Papelbon ringing his cowbell like a rabid dog. It was fun times.

The interesting thing about that show was that every fan didn’t care how silly what they were saying sounded. They were there to show their school pride without reservation. They did just that. It was entertaining enough, but I’m ready for some games to show up.

SEC Now is basically a SportsCenter for the SEC. It will air five nights a week and hosted by Dari Nowkah and Maria Taylor. It will cover all things SEC related each night. And I do mean all things. It will cover your football, baseball, and basketball, but it’s going to cover gymnastics, golf, softball, and any other sport you can think of. And this is where the Network will shine.

If you wanted football coverage, there will be that just about anywhere you turn. ESPN, Fox, CBS, and others cover the SEC plenty when it comes to football. What some of us want more of is the other sports. Mississippi State fans have to be excited about all of the additional baseball coverage we will get. It is also going to get us something many of us have craved for years when it comes to football. Nothing but the SEC. We won’t have to wait through coverage of schools and areas we don’t care anything about.

The Network is getting positive reviews and it should because there was only one requirement and that is gobs of SEC. That is what you’re getting. If you don’t believe me, let me leave you with these tweets. If you happen to be one of the few people who have a provider that doesn’t offer the SEC Network, you need to find a new one. It’s going to be worth it.