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NASA Astronaut to watch SEC games from space next week

Published: Sep 16, 2014 · 2:06 PM EDT

Barry “Butch” Wilmore will have an SEC viewing experience like no other.

Wilmore, a NASA astronaut, is set to launch aboard a Soyuz rocket for a mission to the international space station next week, where he will take over in November as expedition commander.

NASA has arranged for Wilmore, a former Tennessee Tech linebacker and avid Tennessee and Vanderbilt fan, to watch games live from the space station. He has also asked to have games recorded and uplinked as computer files through a DVR-like setup for astronauts since streams will cut out as he passes through satellites. Wilmore will have access to several games, such as ones on the new SEC network, that aren’t even available to everyone on Earth.

Related Article: Astronaut demands SEC Network in space

Wilmore is currently at a cosmonaut training center in Russia and is set to lift off from a launch site in Kazakhstan. At home in Texas, the astronaut says he can’t seem to watch a full game without being interrupted. His wife limits his time on the couch and his children make him change the channel on Saturday afternoons.

“I wish I could watch more Southeastern Conference football—or any football,” Wilmore told the Wall Street Journal. “Sometimes, in the middle of the football game, I end up watching ‘My Little Pony.’ ”

Football plays a major factor into Wilmore’s agenda while aboard the space station. In addition to both Tennessee and Vandy, Wilmore also watches the annual match ups between Florida and South Carolina and Alabama and LSU, which he plans to watch over 200 miles above his home. He is also planning to teach Russian cosmonauts about the game of football.

“They may not understand it completely,” Wilmore said. “I speak a little bit of Russian. I’ll explain as best as I can.”

However, Wilmore’s biggest fear is spoiling a prerecorded game. Astronauts now have access to the Internet and, even in space, it’s hard to find a spoiler-free zone.

“When you’re talking to anyone on earth,” Bloomfield said, “you have to make sure that they don’t mention the score of the game.”

Jason Hall

A former freelance journalist from Nashville, Jason covers Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky