@AC - I think the question
AC, you seem to be unwilling to use your brain for higher levels of thought, such as postulation - extrapolating probable answers from the available information/, or reading the source material.
1) Mr Burdick states that his usual (one assumes monthly) phone/data bill is $220 - not (just) the cost for watching each Bears game via that connection.
2) A ticket to the ground may or may not cost less than $220 but on November 2nd (the date in question) they were playing away at the Minnesota Vikings. As Mr Burdick was on a cruise ship due to sail from Miami, Florida at 4PM EST and the game was starting at 1PM EST in Minnesota, approx. 2,000 miles away this would have made a pitch-side attendence...problomatic.
3) While a shore-side bar would have been an option this would also have risked Mr Burdick massing the departure of his ship. An on-board bar is another option but may not have been showing have games/the Bears game (hardly the atmosphear the cruise line would be trying to promote).
4) Fast-forwarding through the commercial would not have cost $110 - unless the Slingbox has been upgrade to fast-forward through liev transmissions through some bending-space-time-over-IP technology.