Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Schedule
It's sad. I agree. But, it is reality for many people's lives this time of year. When the New Year rolls around, that means three things for me: Bowl Games, NFL Playoffs and the new season of my favorite TV shows. Before you even start rolling your eyes and characterizing my choice of entertainment as a waste of time, just hear me out.
In my previous post, I professed my undying devotion to the Single Greatest Show Ever, "24". That is Monday. As of yesterday, the rest of my week has fallen into line. Observe:
Monday - 24
Tuesday - American Idol
Wednesday - American Idol
Thursday - The Office (funniest show on TV), Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs -- THANK GOD FOR MY DVR
Friday - ???
Saturday - ???
Sunday - ???
Needless to say, there is a spiritual and existential funk in my life after Thursday. What do I do? Seriously, I'm open for suggestions.
Part of me wonders why I commit so much time of my life to these shows when I could be partaking in literally dozens of other, far more productive, activities. Yet I watch. And I am not alone! 40 million people watched the premier of "Idol" last night. 33 million tuned in for the opener of "24". That is roughly 1/7 of the entire population of this country!! And we wonder why public schools are failing, teen pregnancy is up, drug and murder rates are up, school violence is up etc... No, not because Simon Cowell drives people to bring guns to school and smoke hooch. It's because our priorities are out of whack. I'm not condemning anyone because I am part of this phenomenon myself. I just wonder how we got to this point where people care more about a 300-pound nobody from Minnesota singing like the Cowardly Lion from the "Wizard of Oz" (I laughed 'til I cried) than they do about Geometry and Physics.
As for football, the NFL is the single worst-run business in all of sports, yet it is the most popular. Amazing. A group of crack-selling midgets could take over the NFL headquarters and turn it into their own personal meth lab and people would still be addicted to the NFL. Think about this: Shawn Merriman of the San Diego Chargers tested positive for steroids this year (duh!). He is given a four game suspension and yet is still considered for Defensive Player of the Year honors and is hyped as the greatest defensive player since Lawrence Taylor. HELLO! He is a cheater! He used steroids and got caught! Yet, no one cares. Meanwhile, some sports writers THINK Mark McGwire MIGHT HAVE used performance enhancers and they jump on their high horse and refuse to elect him to the baseball Hall of Fame. Double standard? What? No way! Puhh-lease!
To further prove the incompetence of the NFL higher-ups, Saints defensive lineman Hollis Thomas (who is roughly the size of Puerto Rico) was suspended for four games for testing positive for steroids. Big deal, right? Sure. Except that the steroid was a substance in Thomas' PRESCRIBED ASTHMA MEDICINE. The guy weighs 400 pounds! Do you honestly think he is on anabolic steroids to develop muscles on his toenails?! Stupid!
Message To All NFL Players: Whether you are using an illegal substance to grow hair where the sun doesn't shine and cause veins to pop out of your eyeballs or using it to SAVE YOUR LIFE, even if prescribed by your doctor, the NFL will not let you off the hook! We have got our kids to think about!
I'm telling you -- crack-selling midgets!
In my previous post, I professed my undying devotion to the Single Greatest Show Ever, "24". That is Monday. As of yesterday, the rest of my week has fallen into line. Observe:
Monday - 24
Tuesday - American Idol
Wednesday - American Idol
Thursday - The Office (funniest show on TV), Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs -- THANK GOD FOR MY DVR
Friday - ???
Saturday - ???
Sunday - ???
Needless to say, there is a spiritual and existential funk in my life after Thursday. What do I do? Seriously, I'm open for suggestions.
Part of me wonders why I commit so much time of my life to these shows when I could be partaking in literally dozens of other, far more productive, activities. Yet I watch. And I am not alone! 40 million people watched the premier of "Idol" last night. 33 million tuned in for the opener of "24". That is roughly 1/7 of the entire population of this country!! And we wonder why public schools are failing, teen pregnancy is up, drug and murder rates are up, school violence is up etc... No, not because Simon Cowell drives people to bring guns to school and smoke hooch. It's because our priorities are out of whack. I'm not condemning anyone because I am part of this phenomenon myself. I just wonder how we got to this point where people care more about a 300-pound nobody from Minnesota singing like the Cowardly Lion from the "Wizard of Oz" (I laughed 'til I cried) than they do about Geometry and Physics.
As for football, the NFL is the single worst-run business in all of sports, yet it is the most popular. Amazing. A group of crack-selling midgets could take over the NFL headquarters and turn it into their own personal meth lab and people would still be addicted to the NFL. Think about this: Shawn Merriman of the San Diego Chargers tested positive for steroids this year (duh!). He is given a four game suspension and yet is still considered for Defensive Player of the Year honors and is hyped as the greatest defensive player since Lawrence Taylor. HELLO! He is a cheater! He used steroids and got caught! Yet, no one cares. Meanwhile, some sports writers THINK Mark McGwire MIGHT HAVE used performance enhancers and they jump on their high horse and refuse to elect him to the baseball Hall of Fame. Double standard? What? No way! Puhh-lease!
To further prove the incompetence of the NFL higher-ups, Saints defensive lineman Hollis Thomas (who is roughly the size of Puerto Rico) was suspended for four games for testing positive for steroids. Big deal, right? Sure. Except that the steroid was a substance in Thomas' PRESCRIBED ASTHMA MEDICINE. The guy weighs 400 pounds! Do you honestly think he is on anabolic steroids to develop muscles on his toenails?! Stupid!
Message To All NFL Players: Whether you are using an illegal substance to grow hair where the sun doesn't shine and cause veins to pop out of your eyeballs or using it to SAVE YOUR LIFE, even if prescribed by your doctor, the NFL will not let you off the hook! We have got our kids to think about!
I'm telling you -- crack-selling midgets!
# posted by Matt Moscona @ 6:44 AM 
