By Steve Kidera

With all due respect to Andy Williams, right now is “the most wonderful time of the year.” Don’t get me wrong, I love everything about the Holidays, minus the long lines at stores and non-existent parking spots (so I guess that technically isn’t everything). But for those of us sports junkies that put the word “fan” in fanatical, what 10-day span provides more drama, hope, anticipation and intrigue than the first days of April? We just witnessed a classic NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship (sorry Memphis fans…I feel your pain as I’m still reeling over the loss of my beloved Marquette Golden Eagles in Round 2). Baseball players are once again making headlines for their on-field performance (Go Mets!) and the first of golf’s four major’s is about to tee-off at beautiful Augusta National (I’m rooting for a Tiger Grand Slam). This certainly is the most wonderful time of the year to kick off your shoes, put up your feet and watch the best type of reality TV (sorry American Idol fans). And it seems like fans are doing just that.

A recent CEA survey shows that 2.4. million new HDTVs were purchased to watch the New York Giants ruin the New England Patriots run at perfection in Super Bowl XLII. March Madness and the NCAA Tournament accounted for nearly one million more HDTV purchases. Both rank in the top 6 favorite sporting events to watch in high-definition and illustrate that sports can clearly influence sales. And it makes sense. If you’re going to watch the best in the world compete, why not maximize your viewing pleasure. I know my apartment was one of those 2.4 million to get a new HDTV for the big game (a beautiful 46” LCD, in case you were wondering). Usually someone has to drag me away from the TV during the game. That certainly was the case this year except for one thing, my jaw was on the floor. I love going to a live sporting event as much as the next guy or gal but watching that game in High-Def made me feel like I wasn’t only in the stadium but I was in the huddle. It felt as though I caught that pivotal pass from Eli Manning after eluding what seemed like 37 Patriot defenders. While I’m not a fan of the Giants, I can thank our new HDTV for that memory (and I guess I should thank Manning and David Tyree as well).

Watching the Final Four, Major League Baseball and the Masters in high-definition will bring the same joy to many sports fans. That’s why I’m like a kid at Christmas. It certainly is the hap-happiest season of all!

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 8th, 2008 at 10:35 am and is filed under Consumer Research, DTV. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.