Seeing it live on TV, vs., well, not.

Had something happen this past weekend that would make for an interesting psychological study.

Thanks to a cold, Sunday I was "able" to invest all day into watching the Daytona 500. As the race was on the final lap, and my fellow Tennessean was in the lead, my excitement grew. Then, as he rounded turn two, my DVR switched channels (turns out I had told the DVR to record the race, plus gave it an extra hour of recording, and yet it still ran out of time at the worst possible moment).

So by the time I switched back, the first camera shot I saw was of his crew celebrating. So I knew Bayne won. And while I was excited, I just didn't get that gut feeling of joy that, say, those reporters in the DMS pressbox did. Even though the victory was fresh to me.

What is it about seeing a final live, versus learning of it live, that makes it so different? Why do you need to see the actual result happen, in order to enjoy the thrill of (seeing) victory?

 

I used to hate that when I just started using our DVR. I thought if the event went over, the DVR would automatically extend.

"Seeing" it live v. watching it recorded without knowing the result is the same for me. Once I know the result, watching simply is lame IMHO.

 

There's something about live TV. When I've done live tv, I have felt actual current in the air. I've often wondered if someone told me I was live, but I really wasn't, would that feeling still be there.