biting the hands that feeds

the nfl regular season hasn't even started, and i'm already dreading the endless terrell owens updates [you know they're coming]. i didn't really care when the dude was late for practice and i didn't care when he was doing sit-ups in his driveway. i also didn't care when he was riding an exercise bike, nor did i care when he got in shouting matches with his coaches. furthermore, the media [i'm looking at you, espn] 'reported' on owens so much that i really didn't want to hear about his [allegedly] suicide attempt. don't get me wrong, i do not wish him dead, nor any ill will. but after it became clear the following afternoon that it was accidental, i had no further interest in with the story. espn on the other hand, took the story and ran with it for several weeks even though there wasn't any new information. they basically just rehashed the facts and force-fed it down our throats, and when we gagged from all the 'analysis,' they just found another hole to shove it down. all i can say is that espn is a joke.

i'm assuming espn is run by smart business [not sports] people, so there must be some rhyme to their reason. the first thing that comes to mind as to why they air endless 'coverage' of certain players/topics is perhaps people actually want to see this stuff. well, after surveying several of my colleagues, none of them are really interested in their 'in-depth investigations.' even with the small sample size fallacy in mind, i decided that this was not a viable motive. so i wondered why they would choose to talk about something most people are tired of watching. after some deliberation, my best answer would be because espn has decided that there is nothing else noteworthy enough to talk about. it seems that they believe talking about terrell owens shooting lay-ups is more interesting than sports highlights and actual game analysis.

as much as everyone at espn criticizes and demonizes figures like owens, they all know that they need people like him so that they can maintain their job. where would pedro gomez be without barry bonds? i'll tell you, homeless. where would sean salisbury be without terrell owens? i'll tell you, living in a tent on skid row in downtown los angeles. the media needs players like owens as much as he craves attention from them, which makes it intriguing as to why the media reacts the way it does to an owens or a bonds. these guys are paying their bills. only a conglomerate as pompous as the media would try to bite the hand that feeds them. what other business would even consider endlessly criticizing the people who keep them employed?

one of my favorite social phenomena centers around nfl live. espn thinks that since football has become a huge sport [or as they see it, a cash cow], they can air a 30 minute football analysis year round, even during the nfl's 6 month off-season. so what do trey wingo, mark schlereth and sean salisbury have to say during these months? well, the answer is quite simple; they make speculations to which they know they won't be held liable. basically they can say anything they want and make 'bold' predictions because they know most people won't remember that sean salisbury once said that michael vick will throw for 4,000 yards and run for 1,000 yards in the same season [note: he actually said this in the fall of '06].

as mentioned before, when the espn 'experts' aren't making outlandish claims, they are complaining about someone or discussing something that really isn't a big deal [see barbaro]. or they are showing us a puff piece, which i suppose does perform its purpose by blowing smoke up our butts. but i guess you can't please everyone, and espn knows that. i'm sure if they showed more highlights of regular season contests, some people would whine about having too much focus on a 'meaningless' game [by the way, these people are not true sports fans, they are more interested in e!spn]. i suppose the optimal event for everyone [eg fans, media, players] would be terrell owens punching mark schlereth in the face repeatably, which would give everyone at espn something to talk about for months. it's a win/win/win situation. this needs to happen, which is one thing that both espn and i can agree on.