The No Fun League has removed all classic videos

[mcmillenandwife]

Well, folks... the NFL has removed all of our classic game videos. There were several hundred emails similar to the one below in my mailbox this evening:

Dear mcmillenandwife: 

Your video titled "Super Bowl XIII Steelers 35 vs Cowboys 31" (https://vimeo.com/208051276) was removed on Apr 18, 2019 in response to a takedown notice submitted by National Football League based on "NFL content" pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”).

More reason to hate the current NFL. It would be different if they offered fans a way to see these classic games. I don't deny that these videos are their intellectual property and they have the right to do this. But it disgusts me that they choose to do it when they don't offer a way for fans to relive the overwhelming majority of these classic games. They certainly COULD make them available; I would pay money to have access to top-notch quality videos of old Steelers games (I'm sure others would as well). Yet, they don't do it. I find this appalling. For a game that has so much of what makes it special wrapped up in history, the NFL does a piss-poor job of preserving and sharing that legacy. 

Thanks for sucking a little more joy out of the world, NFL. You should be ashamed; the dollars you're currently raking in may be huge, but you are a hollow shell of the great game you used to be. It will eventually catch up with you, I suspect sooner than you think.

My apologies to those of you who have enjoyed the rebirth of this labor of love over the last couple of years. I wish I had a "plan B' to share these games with you, but I don't. It was fun while it lasted. 

On the plus side, this will save me about $500 a year in various service fees I've had to pay to keep the site alive and host all the videos.

[Chucktownsteeler]

Pretty crappy and gutless move, if I say so myself. Blatant cowardly, feckless, characterless move.

I was just warming back up to the NFL.

I guess the quality family time continues. Much like boxing and NASCAR of yesteryear, the NFL seems to be on a self-inflicted death spiral.

Chucktown

[Garrett Garlits]

Well, that's it for me on this site. My opinions run counter to too many others on the board to make discussing the current Steelers fun for me. I was here for the videos, and now they're gone.

The only suggestion I have is to play the YouTube game, which means putting up as many videos as you can until they take you down, then building another channel and another until they leave you alone, which they will unless they get a specific complaint. Given that you're more interested in other pursuits these days, I know that's highly unlikely.

It's been fun, Tim.

[bbbooger]

Well, that's it for me on this site. My opinions run counter to too many others on the board to make discussing the current Steelers fun for me. I was here for the videos, and now they're gone.

The only suggestion I have is to play the YouTube game, which means putting up as many videos as you can until they take you down, then building another channel and another until they leave you alone, which they will unless they get a specific complaint. Given that you're more interested in other pursuits these days, I know that's highly unlikely.

It's been fun, Tim.

Don't let the door hit... Oh... Nevermind ... 

[Rollers]

Well, that's it for me on this site. My opinions run counter to too many others on the board to make discussing the current Steelers fun for me. I was here for the videos, and now they're gone.

The only suggestion I have is to play the YouTube game, which means putting up as many videos as you can until they take you down, then building another channel and another until they leave you alone, which they will unless they get a specific complaint. Given that you're more interested in other pursuits these days, I know that's highly unlikely.

It's been fun, Tim.

BYE BUDDY!!!!!!!!!  oh take the race card with you please

[Rollers]

Pretty crappy and gutless move, if I say so myself. Blatant cowardly, feckless, characterless move.

I was just warming back up to the NFL.

I guess the quality family time continues. Much like boxing and NASCAR of yesteryear, the NFL seems to be on a self-inflicted death spiral.

Chucktown

Are you going to keep the site open or close it?

[mcmillenandwife]

Pretty crappy and gutless move, if I say so myself. Blatant cowardly, feckless, characterless move.

I was just warming back up to the NFL.

I guess the quality family time continues. Much like boxing and NASCAR of yesteryear, the NFL seems to be on a self-inflicted death spiral.

Chucktown

Are you going to keep the site open or close it?

Not sure yet. Waiting to make a decision until I'm less pissed off.

[Rollers]

Pretty crappy and gutless move, if I say so myself. Blatant cowardly, feckless, characterless move.

I was just warming back up to the NFL.

I guess the quality family time continues. Much like boxing and NASCAR of yesteryear, the NFL seems to be on a self-inflicted death spiral.

Chucktown

Are you going to keep the site open or close it?

Not sure yet. Waiting to make a decision until I'm less pissed off.

ok.  well I appreciated the old games this winter very much.  Thanks for the hard work on it and I'm sorry the NFL is such a bunch of jerks

[SimplySonder]

That really sucks. Thanks so much for posting all these though i got to see plenty of games i never would have and always wanted to. Also showed it to my dad awhile ago and I know he got a kick out of reliving some of them.

[mcmillenandwife]

That really sucks. Thanks so much for posting all these though i got to see plenty of games i never would have and always wanted to. Also showed it to my dad awhile ago and I know he got a kick out of reliving some of them.

Well... I'm already working on a plan B, so we'll see.  The NFL has been f-ing with me practically from the moment the site started 22 years ago. I'm not one to give up easily. 

The first test should come within an hour. 

[sandfan]

I've grown less interested in the NFL over the past 5-10 years.  It's unfortunate they continue to act like a bully with respect to this situation but, in the end, it just confirms my ebbing interest in their product.  I try not to be like the old man who chases youngsters off his lawn but I have money and time to spend and those decisions have dictated a move away from the NFL.

I may be only one of those shouting into the wind but I will continue to do so and my passion will move  elsewhere.  It's not that I will leave this "family" like some.   It's just my way of expressing my distaste for what the NFL has done.

Happy Easter to all. It's my favorite time of the year for Jesus has risen and that's, beyond his birth, the best reason to celebrate and be happy.  Nothing the team or NFL can do will change or impact that.

[dbsfgyd1]

Tim,

I’ve been very fond of this site. Being able to see these videos, being able to see players, from their rookie years, through their last efforts, watching the team’s ebb and flow over 40 years was a treat I’ll always remember.

Thank you so much for your efforts and hard work keeping this site afloat over the last 20 some odd years.

Dave

[Chucktownsteeler]

Happy Easter to all. It's my favorite time of the year for Jesus has risen and that's, beyond his birth, the best reason to celebrate and be happy.  Nothing the team or NFL can do will change or impact that.

Amen and amen.

[Rollers]

Tim would putting the games behind a password and you vetting those that join help

[mcmillenandwife]

Tim would putting the games behind a password and you vetting those that join help

Possibly... but my goal is to make it easy and accessible for people to watch these. 

I'm in the very early stages of testing a new video host. So far, so good. Stay tuned...

[Krunch]

Well, that's it for me on this site. My opinions run counter to too many others on the board to make discussing the current Steelers fun for me. I was here for the videos, and now they're gone.

The only suggestion I have is to play the YouTube game, which means putting up as many videos as you can until they take you down, then building another channel and another until they leave you alone, which they will unless they get a specific complaint. Given that you're more interested in other pursuits these days, I know that's highly unlikely.

It's been fun, Tim.

[Krunch]

Well, that's it for me on this site. My opinions run counter to too many others on the board to make discussing the current Steelers fun for me. I was here for the videos, and now they're gone.

The only suggestion I have is to play the YouTube game, which means putting up as many videos as you can until they take you down, then building another channel and another until they leave you alone, which they will unless they get a specific complaint. Given that you're more interested in other pursuits these days, I know that's highly unlikely.

It's been fun, Tim.

Buh.  Bye and yeah, be sure to pick up your race card on the way out.

[mcmillenandwife]

Quick update: Testing on new platform is hitting some pretty serious snags, unfortunately, especially on mobile devices (which this site has never been particularly friendly to). Looking for a fix and/or an alternative solution. We'll see...

[Cali-Steeler]

Thank You Tim, Greatly appreciate all your work!

[RaynorShyne]

Pretty crappy and gutless move, if I say so myself. Blatant cowardly, feckless, characterless move.

I was just warming back up to the NFL.

I guess the quality family time continues. Much like boxing and NASCAR of yesteryear, the NFL seems to be on a self-inflicted death spiral.

Chucktown

Are you going to keep the site open or close it?

Not sure yet. Waiting to make a decision until I'm less pissed off.

Toss my vote towards keeping it open, please

[mcmillenandwife]

Still trying to come up with a viable solution. I've been looking at offshore "DMCA ignored" video streaming services, but so far, they are too expensive. I'm obviously not willing/able to pony up for $150-$200-$300 a month to continue hosting videos, but that's what it looks like it would take. I've found a handful of "free" solutions, but after signing up and doing some testing, the video play speeds are unacceptably slow (playback is continually interrupted with long pauses) and the onslaught of ads is even worse.

I don't make a penny from doing this and I'm not interested in charging people or turning this into some sort of business. So while I don't mind paying a few hundred bucks a year out of pocket to share these games, I have limits to my charitable giving to the football world. LOL.

I'm still hoping to stumble on an offshore "DMCA ignored" (meaning they won't pull content due to copyright claims) video streaming service that is in the $20-per-month range but still offers decent speed and enough storage space (we probably need at least 1 TB for the games already on the site that we had uploaded to Vimeo). So far, I haven't found anything close to meeting this criteria.

I haven't given up... but I'll admit, I'm discouraged.

[Rollers]

Still trying to come up with a viable solution. I've been looking at offshore "DMCA ignored" video streaming services, but so far, they are too expensive. I'm obviously not willing/able to pony up for $150-$200-$300 a month to continue hosting videos, but that's what it looks like it would take. I've found a handful of "free" solutions, but after signing up and doing some testing, the video play speeds are unacceptably slow (playback is continually interrupted with long pauses) and the onslaught of ads is even worse.

I don't make a penny from doing this and I'm not interested in charging people or turning this into some sort of business. So while I don't mind paying a few hundred bucks a year out of pocket to share these games, I have limits to my charitable giving to the football world. LOL.

I'm still hoping to stumble on an offshore "DMCA ignored" (meaning they won't pull content due to copyright claims) video streaming service that is in the $20-per-month range but still offers decent speed and enough storage space (we probably need at least 1 TB for the games already on the site that we had uploaded to Vimeo). So far, I haven't found anything close to meeting this criteria.

I haven't given up... but I'll admit, I'm discouraged.

would using a VPN with an offshore IP make a difference

[Chucktownsteeler]

Still trying to come up with a viable solution. I've been looking at offshore "DMCA ignored" video streaming services, but so far, they are too expensive. I'm obviously not willing/able to pony up for $150-$200-$300 a month to continue hosting videos, but that's what it looks like it would take. I've found a handful of "free" solutions, but after signing up and doing some testing, the video play speeds are unacceptably slow (playback is continually interrupted with long pauses) and the onslaught of ads is even worse.

I don't make a penny from doing this and I'm not interested in charging people or turning this into some sort of business. So while I don't mind paying a few hundred bucks a year out of pocket to share these games, I have limits to my charitable giving to the football world. LOL.

I'm still hoping to stumble on an offshore "DMCA ignored" (meaning they won't pull content due to copyright claims) video streaming service that is in the $20-per-month range but still offers decent speed and enough storage space (we probably need at least 1 TB for the games already on the site that we had uploaded to Vimeo). So far, I haven't found anything close to meeting this criteria.

I haven't given up... but I'll admit, I'm discouraged.

would using a VPN with an offshore IP make a difference

Maybe Hillary can help!

[Krunch]

Tim - For humanity's sake you have to keep the site open. What if SuperSteeler finds his way home and the porch light isn't on?

[SteelThePain82]

Tim - For humanity's sake you have to keep the site open.  What if SuperSteeler finds his way home and the porch light isn't on?

Tim would find him passed out drunk on his front lawn, laying in a pile of his own vomit and piss!     

The hell with SS1 anyhow, somebody start an Unsolved Mysteries episode on "tommy g" GDI!!!

With as easy as it's become to upload video to the internet and stream it, it astounds me that more entities (especially ones as big as they NFL) haven't cashed in on it!

My girlfriend is obsessed with watching shows like Judge Judy and Dr. Phil on youtube.  She used to have to watch them through 3rd party uploaders until the 2 shows (and others of the like) wised up, created their own channels and started collecting the ad revenue for themselves!

If the NFL is too dense to either do the same or offer their own streaming service, they deserve fail and have someone else take their place!


When's the XFL launching again?  I hear the WWE has a SPLENDID streaming service, complete with classic episodes and access to all pay per view events!

[Cali-Steeler]

[Noll and Cowher teams no more]

Tim, just so you know I had always wanted to watch your game collection ever since you first listed the games you owned back on your original site many moons ago. I took advantage of you sharing them on here and for that I thank you for bringing back old childhood memories that I thought I'd never get to relive again. All you did before the NFL took them down was not a total waste of your time and effort. It was a very therapeutic stress reliever for me when I needed to unwind with my everyday real life.

I'm just sorry I never stocked up on your Steeler soap back in the day. LOL

Big THANK YOU, Brother Tim!

[AltoonaBoy]

I had a hunch something was wrong when none of the games were available. I don't know what format they were in or where your videos were archived but Pirate Bay or similar sites are your friend.

[AltoonaBoy]

Still trying to come up with a viable solution. I've been looking at offshore "DMCA ignored" video streaming services, but so far, they are too expensive. I'm obviously not willing/able to pony up for $150-$200-$300 a month to continue hosting videos, but that's what it looks like it would take. I've found a handful of "free" solutions, but after signing up and doing some testing, the video play speeds are unacceptably slow (playback is continually interrupted with long pauses) and the onslaught of ads is even worse.

I don't make a penny from doing this and I'm not interested in charging people or turning this into some sort of business. So while I don't mind paying a few hundred bucks a year out of pocket to share these games, I have limits to my charitable giving to the football world. LOL.

I'm still hoping to stumble on an offshore "DMCA ignored" (meaning they won't pull content due to copyright claims) video streaming service that is in the $20-per-month range but still offers decent speed and enough storage space (we probably need at least 1 TB for the games already on the site that we had uploaded to Vimeo). So far, I haven't found anything close to meeting this criteria.

I haven't given up... but I'll admit, I'm discouraged.

would using a VPN with an offshore IP make a difference

Maybe Hillary can help!

That's the spirit - put the videos on an official government server somewhere in a closet.

[tm101956]

Well, folks... the NFL has removed all of our classic game videos. There were several hundred emails similar to the one below in my mailbox this evening:

Dear mcmillenandwife: 

Your video titled "Super Bowl XIII Steelers 35 vs Cowboys 31" (https://vimeo.com/208051276) was removed on Apr 18, 2019 in response to a takedown notice submitted by National Football League based on "NFL content" pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”).

More reason to hate the current NFL. It would be different if they offered fans a way to see these classic games. I don't deny that these videos are their intellectual property and they have the right to do this. But it disgusts me that they choose to do it when they don't offer a way for fans to relive the overwhelming majority of these classic games. They certainly COULD make them available; I would pay money to have access to top-notch quality videos of old Steelers games (I'm sure others would as well). Yet, they don't do it. I find this appalling. For a game that has so much of what makes it special wrapped up in history, the NFL does a piss-poor job of preserving and sharing that legacy. 

Thanks for sucking a little more joy out of the world, NFL. You should be ashamed; the dollars you're currently raking in may be huge, but you are a hollow shell of the great game you used to be. It will eventually catch up with you, I suspect sooner than you think.

My apologies to those of you who have enjoyed the rebirth of this labor of love over the last couple of years. I wish I had a "plan B' to share these games with you, but I don't. It was fun while it lasted. 

On the plus side, this will save me about $500 a year in various service fees I've had to pay to keep the site alive and host all the videos.

Most of my videos are still up on Youtube. Look for tm101956. Many people asked or assumed that I was Tim McMillen, But my name is Tim McCartney.