Tim Horton was so confident that he would win the Lake Champlain Elite Series that he came in at 10:00 this morning (the final day of the tournament) because he didn't want to risk the hour and a half run from the south end of the lake as the weather started to kick up. A gutsy move on his part, but he had a solid lead going into the day and 20+ pounds in the livewell. I have a feeling we will all be talking about this one for a long time. He caught his fish in the first 45 minutes after he arrived.
But the coolest thing is that we can watch all this unfold on the internet. ESPNoutdoors.com has an internet show that comes on several times throughout the final day of the tournament and today we got to hear Jerry McKinnis interview Timmy at the dock at noon. Even cooler, they are leaving a webcam up all day as Timmy sits at the dock waiting for the rest of the boats to check in.
But the coolest thing is that we can watch all this unfold on the internet. ESPNoutdoors.com has an internet show that comes on several times throughout the final day of the tournament and today we got to hear Jerry McKinnis interview Timmy at the dock at noon. Even cooler, they are leaving a webcam up all day as Timmy sits at the dock waiting for the rest of the boats to check in.
In the screen grab above you can see Timmy at the dock and the guy over on the left is his cameraman, Wes Miller. He's on the phone. Talking to me! What a neat thing...I guess it's the next best thing to being there. I got to say congratulations to Timmy and watch him speak back to me through the internet. Relayed through Wes of course.
Moments later Timmy's wife Melanie and the girls showed up with pizza as you can see above. I know Tim appreciated both of those gestures. The women in his life AND the pizza.
I'll be checking on the web cam periodically not because there is anything particularly exciting to see, but just because I think it's so innovative. Of course, I'll also be watching the race and I have TrackPass, which allows me to listen to the crew radios and see what's up with my favorite drivers throughout the race. I can't wait until technology allows us to have a similar scenario in fishing.
I'll be burning up the broadband between fishing and racing this afternoon. I'm glad I got all my weekend chores done yesterday!
PS - Kudos to Timmy for growing his hair out to donate to Locks of Love. What a kind thing to do.
UPDATE: 12:30 Central Time
So Zona calls me having just gotten home from a shoot (which is the reason he couldn't be at the tournament today) and when I tell him to tune in to the web cam, he immediately wants Wes' phone number so he can call him too. The pic below shows Timmy giving us a shout out when Wes told him Z and I were watching. Okay, I admit it. We're geeks.
2 comments:
I've been watching the weigh ins via the internet for awhile now. The other day I had this thought about how awesome it would be if ESPN set up something like www.stickam.com - I was just thinking how cool it would be if a professional angler was to set up a live stream chat with others on webcam.
I don't think ESPN is too far away from all that now.
another fine post, Angie.
The big challenge we face is the lack of signal out on the lake. That's the reason why it is so hard to do live fishing telecasts. Even with a television signal and a helicopter to transmit the microwave, it's still line of sight...which can be impossible in some places.
Webcams would be great but you need a signal through which to transmit. On many of the lakes we visit, the cell service is spotty at best and non-existent at worst. At the '06 Classic there were only a few places on the water where you could find a signal, so the TV people were frequently found there. That's why I say....I can't wait until the technology allow us. One day I hope we have webcams in every boat! Watching the race with Trackpass makes such a rich fan experience, when you can listen to the crew radios, or pull up your driver's stats. But a race takes place in a set area....not over 100's of miles like fishing.
Maybe one day....
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