Why is the NFL so uptight?
Last week Jake Plummer, the quarterback for the Denver Broncos was fined 5000$ for flipping a fan off during a home game where he wasn't playing well. Now from what I've heard, the fan was asking for it, but yesterday I saw footage of Plummer talking about how deeply sorry he is and how he truly regrets his gesture. Am I the only one who doesn't see this as a big deal? I mean it's not as if he went into the stands and started an all-out brawl like SOMEONE I could mention.
This got me thinking about other NFL "scandals", and I remember how, after incidents like Terrel Owens' MNF opening sketch, or the Janet Jackson fiasco, the commissioner of the NFL was saying stuff like how he's embarrassed for the league, and embarrassed FOR THE FANS. For the fans?!? Does this guy know who his fans ARE?
I mean we're talking about a sport where 200-pound guys run into each other trying to KILL one another for a ball while women in skimpy clothing cheer them on from the sidelines. Even if, for some reason, he didn't think he was specifically marketing his product to the "Men ages 16 to 40" demographic, this isn't exactly the kind of show I would qualify as wholesome family entertainment. I'm seriously convinced that most reactions were on the positive side of the scale when Janet flashed her boob earlier this year. I know *I* didn't feel offended or embarrassed, and I was kind of annoyed to see the NFL's main man say that he was embarrassed for me.
I understand that catering to prudes is the best overall marketing strategy when you're broadcasting something on TV, but do they really think they're fooling anyone? I think NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue should forget about what my mom would say while watching his product, and focus his efforts on making sure the hits are hard (while keeping the athletes as safe as possible), and the cheerleaders are hot.
posted by Rock Joe @ 12/20/2004 02:09:00 p.m.
2 comments
2 Comments:
Posted by Dom Colosi (from the CCWA boards)
I'm gonna have to seriously disagree with you here, and only for one reason. Football is trying to be a family program. And that makes sense. Sure, when you think of a football fan, an young man comes to mind, not a child, but that doesn't mean that families don't watch games.
Sometimes it's easy to forget that a lot of males are actually married or live with their parents. A married guy is much more likely to watch something that is appropriate for his kids. This is why the NFL doesn't want this kind of thing happening.
Now, imagine you have a five-year-old watching football with his dad. If that came up, wouldn't you wish your kid hadn't seen it? If it happened almost every game, you probably wouldn't be watching too much football with your kid (and if you did watch, it would be at a buddy's house with a bunch of guys, and that really means less houses watching the show).
Five grand isn't a lot for a football player, but it's enough to say to him (and other players), "Hey, stop that."
Thanks alot, Dom. I'll admit that the Jake Plummer incident wasn't the best example, and the only reason I didn't see it as a big deal is that I don't have kids. I don't think this negates the rest of my post, however.
The point is that Janet's Super-Boob made EVERYONE gun shy, and the NFL is especially touchy about the stuff that happens during their games. I think Randy Moss' fake moon is a much better example of the NFL over-reacting. I'll agree that it was in poor taste, but the announcer was flat-out babbling when he said "That's a DISGUSTING ACT by Moss". It wasn't a disgusting act. He was pretending to do to the fans what they've done to him, and many other visiting players.
People (the TV-police included) should never forget how powerful it is when a parent sees something questionable on TV with his kid watching, then turns to his kid and asks "What do you think about that?" to get a conversation started. THAT'S what'll allow the child to put it in perspective.
But I won't get started on the issue of bad parents. *LOL*
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