The state funeral for John McCain preempted the first College Football Saturday of the season.
Sometimes sports takes a backseat to real life, sometimes unexpectedly. That was the case on Saturday morning when fans tuning into FOX for the first real College Football Saturday of the season didn’t find any football on the channel.
When the television scheduling for the first weekend of the season was planned, no one knew that the funeral of Senator John McCain would occur on the same day. McCain, who was a war hero in Vietnam and has been part of American politics for over 50 years, died last week after battling brain cancer. His state funeral was held on Saturday, attended by just about everyone in Washington, and was broadcast on every major cable network.
That meant FOX carried the funeral, which ran into the scheduling of Oklahoma-FAU and other early games that were slated to take place. Fans who weren’t aware of the scheduling change — which FOX never really announced — weren’t pleased with what they saw.
Where is the game? Not being shown on fox right now due to the McCain funeral
— The Bearded One (@wakafrocka) September 1, 2018
Congratulations on continuing to be a joke that remains squarely in the shadow of the real networks.
— jstaubs (@jstaubs) September 1, 2018
@wsvn How can I watch? You have the funeral on
— William Leidy (@WilliamLeidy) September 1, 2018
Let’s all take a minute to breathe.
While it’s frustrating to have unexpected changes at the last minute, this is a moment to reflect rather than lash out. Football is just a game and one that is played almost every Saturday in the fall.
Why is McCain’s funeral on and not College Football?
First off, calm down. He was a U.S. Senator, and one of the most well-known in recent memory. Don’t act that surprised that his funeral is a big deal.
McCain’s legacy, while complicated and murky, is one that deserves to be reflected upon one way or another. That reflection doesn’t have to be a poetic waxing of his legacy, but no matter how you slice it, his death and subsequent funeral are bigger than football.
On the other hand, FOX not giving anyone a real heads up as to what was happening is justifiably frustrating. You can stream the game on FOX Sports Go, and coverage on FOX will resume once the state funeral ends.