February 8, 2010
Whose Fault Is It…?
After you have read all of the Super Bowl analysis on the sports pages of the nation this morning, you may still have some questions as to why the game turned out the way it did. As a public service, allow me to assist you in getting the answers you seek:
1. If you want to know why the Colts’ loss was the fault of the Bush Administration, tune in to Keith Olbermann’s show on MSNBC tonight. According to him, everything is the fault of the Bush Administration; therefore, he will surely be able to provide you with guidance there.
2. If you want to know why the Colts’ loss was the fault of the Obama Administration, tune in to Bill O’Reilly’s show on FOX News tonight. According to him, everything is the fault of the Obama Administration; therefore, he will surely be able to provide you with guidance there.
No need to thank me…
Here is your term paper assignment for this course. The length of the paper will be a minimum of 3000 words and a maximum of 5000 words. You are to take one of the adjectives from the following list and present a cogent argument why it is the best adjective to use in describing the halftime performance of The Who at the Super Bowl yesterday:
a. Irrelevant
b. Inconsequential
c. Pointless
d. Trifling
e. All of the above.
Papers should be submitted on or before noon on Friday…
In his recent State of the Union address, President Obama said that he wanted to impose a freeze on all government discretionary spending starting in 2011. I do not wish to start or participate in any debate regarding the worthiness or the efficacy of such a plan. Nevertheless, I do want to point out that the US Census Bureau demonstrated yesterday how they took about $3M of taxpayer money appropriated to it by the Congress and spent it on an ad in the Super Bowl encouraging folks to fill out their census forms. According to reports, the Census Bureau is planning an ad campaign of $133M to encourage folks to mail in their census forms. Did yesterday’s ad change your mind about whether or not you will comply with the census? I know it changed my mind about government discretionary spending…
By the way, when CBS executives get their bonuses this year based on profits made by the network, remember that some US government advertising helped them make those profits and earn those bonuses. No griping will be allowed by the Washington plutocrats…
Greg Cote had this note in yesterday’s editions of the Miami Herald regarding another Super Bowl ad that ought to raise an eyebrow:
“Chrysler will advertise during the Super Bowl to herald its emergence from bankruptcy. I don’t suppose there will be time in that ad to note that the emergence was aided by a $15.5 billion U.S. bailout and then a buyout by Italian automaker Fiat.”
Speaking of yesterday’s ads, the one featuring Tim Tebow and his mother was a disappointment. With all of the hoopla that it generated and all the angst expressed by organizations like Planned Parenthood, I was expecting something far edgier and surely some content that might border on controversial. After seeing the ad, I think that anyone who screeched about banning it from the airways should be sent to solitary confinement for six months so that we will not have to hear from them for a while. It is perfectly OK to disagree with the message in the ad; it is not OK to suggest – or demand – that it be banned from the airways before anyone knows what is in it.
It is perfectly fair to ask if the sponsors of the “Tim Tebow ad” got their money’s worth in terms of changing anyone’s mind on that subject. Frankly, I doubt that they did, but that is just my opinion. However, unlike the Census Bureau ad mentioned above, this ad represented an expenditure of funds by a private entity that is not trillions of dollars in debt. Even if you do not like the ad and its message, consider that it put into circulation about $3M; that is a small economic stimulus.
Prior to staging the Super Bowl, the city of Miami also hosted the Pro Bowl Game as part of the NFL’s new “experiment” to try to make the Pro Bowl marginally relevant. In the week leading up to the meaningless Pro Bowl game, there was another sporting event in Miami – the Olympic Classes Regatta. I do not know which of those two events had less general interest among sports fans in the US. Here is what Greg Cote had to say about the regatta in the Miami Herald:
“The weeklong Miami Olympic Classes Regatta ended Saturday off Miami Beach, affirming sailing’s status as The World’s Worst Spectator Sport.”
BET - - that is Black Entertainment Television - - is going to air an eight-part series called The Michael Vick Project. It will chronicle Vick’s return to an NFL career from the humiliation and disgrace that he had fallen into with regard to the dogfighting episodes. No offense to the producers of this series, but when The Michael Vick Project goes to DVD, it will be a colossal waste of ones and zeroes.
Finally, here is one more note from Greg Cote in the Miami Herald regarding the make-up of the people in the stands at the super Bowl yesterday:
“A record crowd is expected at It’s-Still-Dolphin Stadium-To-Me, jam-packed with league and team employees, players and their families, corporate sponsors, celebrities and others with connections. There might even be a few actual, regular fans present, as well, if they can find a way to sneak past security.
“As for the original Saints season-ticket holder since 1967 who could not get a ticket, sorry, sir, but your seat will be occupied by the nephew of Pamela Anderson’s bodyguard.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports…
