What better way is there to celebrate national signing day than plopping down in front of a computer and staring at a live-stream of a fax machine on the campus of your favorite college? The Washington Huskies gave die-hards the chance yesterday, running a live-stream of the mythical fax machine in the office of the athletic department throughout the day as Letters of Intent rolled in. It was bizarre, but a brilliant marketing idea by the Washington athletic department, and the numbers show it worked well.
At one point yesterday, according to Yahoo!'s Dr. Saturday, 500 fans were tuned in to Steve Sarkisian's USTREAM channel at one point, which simply featured a camera pointed at the fax machine. For one day, the outdated fax machine became the star of the show, as fans watched while letters binding the newest class of recruits to their favorite school came through the machine throughout the morning.
Thanks to the beauty of technology, this is all possible now as we have unprecedented access to our favorite college programs. No longer do many fans have to wait for the school's official release to know which recruits are signed. Instead, thanks to the magic of Twitter, Facebook and the fax cam, it all happens in real-time, live in front of our very eyes.
It still doesn't beat the Calipari door cam, however.