March Madness: Complete couch-potato viewing checklist

Creature Comforts Welcome

Let’s face it. You’re going to be on that couch for a long time. The number of hours you’ll log on your sofa during the tournament will probably outnumber what you spend in bed … or with family … or at work. Making sure your game-watching space is comfortable has to be a priority.

Pillows – March Madness is not the time for interior decorating worries. Bring bed and throw pillows from your bedroom and/or guest room and have them at the ready for various position changes on the sofa. Making a run down to the local discount big-box store to pick up some $5 pillows wouldn’t hurt either.

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South Bound & Down

Blankets – No matter where in the country you may live, March nights can get chilly, and sometimes you just want to be covered up. Blankets of any type are welcome, but sports-themed ones will keep you looking like your grandmother bundled up on the sofa.

You may have some guests who need blankets and who also perpetually have cold feet (or feet you really don’t care to look at). A great solution for that is the PediPocket (pictured above). This is a large, microfiber fleece blanket with a built in pocket at one end for feet. Move around all you like under this blanket, your feet will stay covered and warm.

Mobile Devices – The more the better. Phones, tablets, laptops, as many devices as your wifi connection will run without losing bandwidth (or being throttled by your provider) will make your viewing experience that much better. You can stream games on devices, keep brackets updated, and video chat with friends all while never leaving the safety of your sofa.

For keeping devices in watchable position, my personal choice is the Rolodex Mesh. It’s affordable, sturdy, easy to use, and will hold any size phone or tablet safely.

Speakers – As much as it pains me to say, there will times when leaving the sofa and the room become necessity. While you might miss some video, you can at least keep up with what’s going on by strategically placing some Bluetooth speakers around your home (bathrooms, front/back porch, kitchen, etc). Keep the speakers connected and running with the volume set low, then when you need to listen you can temporarily turn the volume up until you head back to your couch-sanctuary.