In recent years, PBS' "Frontline" has offered up a brand of TV news magazine so incredibly superior to all comers, that one could anticipate it to force "peers" such as CBS' "60 Minutes" to go the way of ABC's "20/20" (the "Inside Edition" of prime-time television) or "Dateline" NBC (prime-time's "Hard Copy"). To its credit, "60 Minutes" has the resilience, testicular fortitude, and... say it with me now... journalistic integrity to continue to present stories about Tom Brady and refuse to deny Andy Rooney a platform to discuss the new things that he just doesn't understand... psst!!! ANDY! It might be the "aging" and not just that you're better than us.
"Frontline," on the other hand, actually devotes an entire hour (sometimes longer) to stories that actually deserve an hour's worth of my time and they manage to do it without commercials and ticking clocks that remind me just how valuable my time should be... seriously, "60 Minutes" is the only show on TV that likes to remind you that time is passing you by whilst you stare at the boob tube. Most other shows are smart enough to NOT draw attention to that fact. Here's a hint... if you want to know what's going to happen on "60 Minutes" this week, just go online to The New York Times and browse articles from approximately 3 months prior... shhhh... it's old news.
Bottom line, "Frontline" is the only TV news magazine which makes a concerted effort to add new insight to the stories it presents. I've never seen an episode that wasn't enthralling. From "Ghosts of Rwanda" to "The Mormons" to "Is Walmart Good For America" straight on to "The Undertaking," each episode is thorough, thought provoking and clear headed.
Tonight, they premiered "Growing Up Online" and it reminded me just how important this show is. While "Dateline, NBC" is out there hunting for sexual predators, PBS "Frontline" is actually taking the time to create a forum wherein the culture of internet youth is discussed and examined. It should be seen by EVERYONE and can be done so online... just spare 57 minutes or so.
The episode (nay, documentary) explores far beyond the existence of sexual predators (who have been there since the dawn of man) and gets to the generational gap. It discusses cyber bullying, teens wanting their "space" and even gets to eating disorders. In doing so, it provides more insight into the actual moral and societal problems than an entire season of "Dateline: To Catch A Predator" could ever hope to provide. How none of the producers managed to make it on screen without a double breasted italian suit is beyond me!... Take THAT Chris Hanson.
Before I give up on "60 Minutes" for all time, I would like to hear, just one more time, about how Andy Rooney's desk was given to him by a friend 30 years ago and is made from a single piece of Redwood... or is it Oak?... Maple?... Aww, who gives a shit, I stopped paying attention last century.
22 January 2008
13 January 2008
Modern Day Faust
It became clear with a few weeks left in the regular season that the 2007 version of the Pittsburgh Steelers would have a very short shelf life in the 2008 playoff season. In many ways a very good team, they just made too many mistakes (particularly on special teams) that Super Bowl contenders simply cannot make and the early round exit from the annual post-season tournament to the Jacksonville Jaguars was fitting. If I experienced grief over the thing, I've clearly reached the acceptance stage. It's time to move on. Mike Tomlin's first season as coach was a success: to hope for a Super Bowl ring is one thing, but to expect it is unreasonable... particularly with the New England Patriots having a season for the ages.
Which brings me to my next point...
Who will beat the Patriots?
Well, we know it's not the Jaguars. The "Steelers of the South" were humbled last night (just like everyone else who came before them). They played admirably but (just as it did in the Steelers' loss to the Pats last month) New England took over the third quarter and the Jags couldn't keep up. It's a shame because I actually liked the Jaguars this year despite the fact that they beat the Black 'n Gold twice. Jack Del Rio is the real deal, David Garrard is a class act all the way and Fred Taylor never complained about being overlooked for most of his career. They deserved better than to lose to this Patriots team. Now they're just another notch on Tom Brady's bedpost.
I've reached the point where I don't think anyone can beat the Patriots this season, but I sure as shit hope someone will. Why all this animosity? Sure, I realize it sounds like sour grapes. Saying that type of thing is sure to draw the "don't hate the player..." cliche from New Englanders and raise their perception that Steeler fans collectively share this view.
I don't see it as sour grapes, though. I believe a true Steeler fan is, at heart, a true football fan. One who is equally happy watching a game from the aluminum bleachers in a three thousand capacity high school stadium somewhere in the hills of western Pennsylvania as they are from the padded leather rockers in a luxury box at Heinz Field. They're the type of person who talks football with their grandmothers because football is a way of life and their grandmothers have lived a lot more football.
By all accounts, Bill Belichick loves football history but I'm not convinced he has any respect for it. Nobody will ever be able to convince me that it's not important to note that the Patriots were caught cheating in the first week of the season. The mere fact that they would do something against the rules to gain a competitive advantage truly grinds my gears and should, in my opinion, forever raise doubt as to the nature of their good fortune in recent years.
Here's the problem, while watching the Jags/Pats game last night, in the third quarter I found myself thinking "There's no way everybody on this team is capable of performing so well at the same time... wouldn't it be funny if we find out in a few years that students at MIT or Harvard had discovered some new performance enhancing drug that the league was not yet aware of and Belichick decided to let them test it on his players?"
I shouldn't be having thoughts like this. I shouldn't be made to consider that the Patriots acheived a perfect regular season through some form of cheating, but this is where Belichick has led me. His hubris has undermined their accomplishments. Tom Brady's faux, off-the-field, humility turned to smugness long ago and Rodney Harrison is... well... a douchebag on the football field (I think he's probably an OK guy off of it).
Perhaps I've made all of this up in my mind and I'm sure the media has helped by fanning the flames of hatred. You see, I'm not the only person who feels this way and the national media has embraced the fact that there are legions of people who view the Patriots now, in much the same way, as baseball fandom views the Yankees. Patriots fans will claim the media is the problem and that their team is, in fact, what their record shows... Perfect in every way. They will claim that Belichick and Brady are football in its purest form and shouldn't need to be liked by people outside their fan base in order to be respected and given credit for being as good as the records they have produced.
I say that's hogwash. Respect will forever be a two-way street and Belichick (and by extension the entire Patriots' organization) shat all over our side of the street by stealing signals and showing no remorse for it.
I view the Patriots' success as almost Faustian. If God is a Steeler fan, then the Devil is a Patriot fan and Bill Belichick made some sort of deal with him to get his perfect season. God will probably sit back and allow the Devil his due for this season, because, well, God has more important things to do than worry about the NFL season and he rarely intervenes in football games. Perhaps, however, God did intervene on the Steelers behalf by allowing them take their exit at the hands of a worthy opponent instead of having to endure a second loss to the Patriots. He is a merciful God.
You have to believe, though, that God is keeping one corner of his eye on Brett Favre and if the Packers make it to the Super Bowl, we may see a real miracle. Just a thought.
Which brings me to my next point...
Who will beat the Patriots?
Well, we know it's not the Jaguars. The "Steelers of the South" were humbled last night (just like everyone else who came before them). They played admirably but (just as it did in the Steelers' loss to the Pats last month) New England took over the third quarter and the Jags couldn't keep up. It's a shame because I actually liked the Jaguars this year despite the fact that they beat the Black 'n Gold twice. Jack Del Rio is the real deal, David Garrard is a class act all the way and Fred Taylor never complained about being overlooked for most of his career. They deserved better than to lose to this Patriots team. Now they're just another notch on Tom Brady's bedpost.
I've reached the point where I don't think anyone can beat the Patriots this season, but I sure as shit hope someone will. Why all this animosity? Sure, I realize it sounds like sour grapes. Saying that type of thing is sure to draw the "don't hate the player..." cliche from New Englanders and raise their perception that Steeler fans collectively share this view.
I don't see it as sour grapes, though. I believe a true Steeler fan is, at heart, a true football fan. One who is equally happy watching a game from the aluminum bleachers in a three thousand capacity high school stadium somewhere in the hills of western Pennsylvania as they are from the padded leather rockers in a luxury box at Heinz Field. They're the type of person who talks football with their grandmothers because football is a way of life and their grandmothers have lived a lot more football.
By all accounts, Bill Belichick loves football history but I'm not convinced he has any respect for it. Nobody will ever be able to convince me that it's not important to note that the Patriots were caught cheating in the first week of the season. The mere fact that they would do something against the rules to gain a competitive advantage truly grinds my gears and should, in my opinion, forever raise doubt as to the nature of their good fortune in recent years.
Here's the problem, while watching the Jags/Pats game last night, in the third quarter I found myself thinking "There's no way everybody on this team is capable of performing so well at the same time... wouldn't it be funny if we find out in a few years that students at MIT or Harvard had discovered some new performance enhancing drug that the league was not yet aware of and Belichick decided to let them test it on his players?"
I shouldn't be having thoughts like this. I shouldn't be made to consider that the Patriots acheived a perfect regular season through some form of cheating, but this is where Belichick has led me. His hubris has undermined their accomplishments. Tom Brady's faux, off-the-field, humility turned to smugness long ago and Rodney Harrison is... well... a douchebag on the football field (I think he's probably an OK guy off of it).
Perhaps I've made all of this up in my mind and I'm sure the media has helped by fanning the flames of hatred. You see, I'm not the only person who feels this way and the national media has embraced the fact that there are legions of people who view the Patriots now, in much the same way, as baseball fandom views the Yankees. Patriots fans will claim the media is the problem and that their team is, in fact, what their record shows... Perfect in every way. They will claim that Belichick and Brady are football in its purest form and shouldn't need to be liked by people outside their fan base in order to be respected and given credit for being as good as the records they have produced.
I say that's hogwash. Respect will forever be a two-way street and Belichick (and by extension the entire Patriots' organization) shat all over our side of the street by stealing signals and showing no remorse for it.
I view the Patriots' success as almost Faustian. If God is a Steeler fan, then the Devil is a Patriot fan and Bill Belichick made some sort of deal with him to get his perfect season. God will probably sit back and allow the Devil his due for this season, because, well, God has more important things to do than worry about the NFL season and he rarely intervenes in football games. Perhaps, however, God did intervene on the Steelers behalf by allowing them take their exit at the hands of a worthy opponent instead of having to endure a second loss to the Patriots. He is a merciful God.
You have to believe, though, that God is keeping one corner of his eye on Brett Favre and if the Packers make it to the Super Bowl, we may see a real miracle. Just a thought.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)