Here's What I'm Burning On
Typing that headline made me realize I could probably generate a nice little side conversation, independent of the subject matter of this post, by publicly and proudly stating that I am a huge fan of Jim Rome. (Moreso of The Jungle than of JRIB.) I'm sure some of your jaws are on the floor, but it's true. While I can sort of see why he annoys some sports fans, he sure as hell doesn't annoy me. The guy rules. Unlike the vast majority of the writers/broadcasters we complain about here, he's 1) original, 2) entertaining, and most importantly 3) he doesn't take himself too seriously. Reasonable minds can differ about this- actually no, scratch that. They can't. If you don't think Jim Rome is awesome then you are wrong. Discuss in the comments if you must.
Anyways, here's what's grinding my gears tonight. Sorry this isn't a real post- I'll do something with Simmons or Easterbrook later this week.
First of all, during the 4th quarter of tonight's Boise State/VaTech game, some dipshit in the booth praised Boise (which had just taken a 33-30 lead) for being so "courageous." Oh, did I not identify the dipshit? Well since the game was nationally televised on ABC, I'm sure that even if you didn't watch you knew it was Musburger. What a fucking no-talent clown the guy is. Nothing in the realm of terrible announcing is worse than when broadcasters try to invent a story/angle that isn't there. No, Boise didn't come back from a 4th quarter deficit and win the game because they're really good at football and played slightly better than VaTech did- no, of course not. It was all about courage. And heart, and believing in yourself, and wanting it more, and leaving it all on the field. Motherfucking Musburger. You're atrocious, sir. Fire yourself.
Second of all, fuck ESPN (and all the national media outlets, really) for pandering to the mongoloid masses who think baseball is a dumb boring pussy sport for homosexuals and saturating the airwaves with football coverage while sweeping baseball coverage/highlights under the rug for the past four weeks. Yes, I understand that NCAAF and the NFL are more popular than MLB. No, I don't think that should mean that the first five stories on Sportscenter on Labor Day (Boise/VaTech, Dennis Dixon will start for the Steelers, Mark Ingram is still injured, Darrelle Revis decided to stop being an asshole and sign a contract, and yes, some fucking bullshit about Favre than I changed the channel on) should be exclusively about football.
Zero NFL regular season games have been played this year. NCAAF is barely underway. Meanwhile, the MLB season is 85% over and every division except the AL West and the NL Central has a great race going on. Fifteen teams are still in serious playoff contention. (Isn't it parity that fuels the NFL's popularity?) And ESPN treats it like the WNBA. Speaking of which, I just heard a promo for the WNBA finals, which start this weekend. Set your DVRs now! Anyways, this just frustrates the hell out of me.
I've made this same point about ESPN's constant worship of the Yankees and Red Sox- yes, they have to appeal the masses to an extent. If the masses want meaningless NFL content, they should get it, to an extent. But ESPN is also powerful enough to shape fans' leanings and interests. They're not just appealing to Yankees/Red Sox/"football only" fans- they're also making more of them by ignoring not the Yankees/not the Red Sox/MLB. It's pretty pathetic. But then again, as Chris W explained to me earlier tonight, there are plenty of people out there who just can't watch something unless it involves dudes hitting one another. (See: ESPN's ever-expanding MMA coverage.) So you're not going to reach those people with baseball coverage. After all, it's a dumb boring pussy sport for homosexuals. Hey, I enjoy NCAAF and the NFL a ton. I follow the NFL 95% as closely as I follow baseball, and NCAAF 80% as closely. I just don't fucking understand why Sportscenter starts scheduling its coverage as if baseball doesn't exist starting in mid-August. DURRRRRRRRR WHAT DID BRETT SAY TODAY? AND HOW ARE BEN'S TEAMMATES FEELING ABOUT HIM? I NEED CONSTANT UPDATES ON THIS, NO BASEBALL HILITES PLZ, JUST MORE REPORTS FROM ED WERDER AND RACHEL NICHOLS
/baseball fan elitism
I hope the NFL misses its 2011 season with a lockout. There, I said it.
