Raising the Bar on Sunday Afternoon NFL Games

I have a friend, who at one time was a neighbor, that has elevated Sunday Afternoon Football to a whole new level. My friend, Joe, is a lifelong Bears fan and diehard football fan all around. I don't see Joe much anymore since we moved out of the neighborhood but the family's still get together on the holidays and we stay in touch.

So I get a call from Joe last August and he tells me he's having a Bears Party for the first game of the season. Joe has single-handedly cornered the market on everything Bears. Most people have a den or family room in their house, Joe has a Bears Shrine. You name it; he's got it if it has something to do with the Chicago Bears team.

So I get to the party and it's in the back yard. Prior to this it was always in the driveway and garage since that's where the game was watched every Sunday. Joe's got a nice backyard with a good-sized deck with huge barbecue and smoker rig. But I also noticed what appeared to be a big white sheet on the wall of his house.

There were also speakers positioned around the deck, in several sizes and shapes. Joe usually has at least 10 guys who show up to watch football games but I could tell there were more than that on this Sunday. Everyone brings beer and junk food to enhance the game experience and it appeared we had plenty of supplies.

So a few minutes after I arrive, Joe brings out a small table and what looks like a slide projector. Only it wasn't a slide projector, it was a Panasonic HD TV projector (PT-AE3000 LCD home theater model) with all the bells and whistles. Joe takes a minute to set it up and plug in what appears to be a stereo receiver (Onkyo HT-S9100THX 7.1 Channel Receiver and Speaker Package).

With out much fanfare he cranks up this system with a DVD of 300, the movie about the 300 Spartans that fight to the last man against the Persian Army of over a million. The backyard was immediately transformed into a huge outdoor theater. I can't say what was more impressive; the THX surround sound system or the 12-foot image of the movie on the side of the house that was crystal clear.

The visual and sound effects were incredible and it was like being in the film. He played about 20 minutes of the film and then went to the pregame show on TV about the upcoming Bears game. I'm not sure of the screen size but the people were life-size and the sound was like you were in the room with them. On the highlights of the last year's games you could see the blades of grass on the field, the expressions on the faces of the players, and even the writing on the football.

Needless to say everyone on the deck was absolutely blown away by Joe's new toys. During halftime he told us how he picked out and setup the whole package. Bottom line he only spent about $3,000 total. When he started out he was looking at big plasma TVs that sold for around $3500 but saw the projector setup in the store and went in that direction.

Now before you run out and get a system like Joe's, here are the few caveats that you need to know. The projector uses a high-end bulb that needs to be replaced every so often at the price of about $200. You have to have a big room to really enjoy a large screen, there's a ratio of distance and size of image that is necessary for optimal viewing. And the setup is not for the technically challenged, Joe had the guys from the store he bought it from come out and set it up and fine tune the image and color.

If you plan on doing the outdoor thing, you better invite the neighbors. I guarantee you that Joe's system could be heard for blocks if not miles. Joe never had his system volume at even one third of the possible levels and you could feel it vibrating the deck. Inside, there's no doubt that this sound system could break windows with no problem.

And in Joe's case, come winter or a rain storm, the system has to go back into the house. And in a room big enough to handle the large screen sizes possible. Joe does have a good sized family room that can handle the requirements and set it up in there first so he can easily move the system inside.

These systems are not for everyone but the quality of the image and the THX surround sound is very impressive. If you're a movie buff or sports fan and have the space, this system will provide the ultimate in home viewing. Throw in some high quality stadium or movie theater seating and you have your own personal home theater that rivals any commercial one that I've ever seen.