I wish there were another sports story to talk about this week. I even hoped there would be something else, but so far, there doesn't seem to be. It hasn't yet blown itself out and is not likely to do so as long as people keep jumping on the righteous indignation bandwagon over that embarrassing Super Bowl Halftime show.
Funny thing is, we had the game on at our house and I still missed it. Never noticed. Didn't know a thing about it until I was watching "news" the next morning. Neither did my two sons see it.
Wife saw it but decided not to mention it. Wives are like that.
The idea was brilliant. Not too principaled or sophisticated, but brilliant and some ad person deserves a bonus.
It would be safe to say that there hasn't been as much post Super Bowl Talk since the Jets beat the Colts. Of course, most of the talk drifts away from football, despite the fact that last week's game ranks up there with the more exciting Super Bowls ever.
Folks just can't keep from talking about it. And that's what the folks who produce these extravaganzas want.
Interestingly, Writer's Bloc, a column of e-mail responses on ESPN.com, features opinions mostly dismissing the hue and cry raised in protest to what "went down" during the half time show.
Some suggest that the exposition of a Janet Jackson body part should be considered less offensive than 1) the overtly sexual bumping and grinding she and co-performer Justin Timberlake performed leading up to their finale or 2) the wearing of the American flag by Kid Rock.
Others felt that it was not as obscene as the mayhem, pain and injury caused by exploitation of men who abnormally develop their bodies in order to inflict mayhem, pain and injury.
Still others were nonchalant, not shocked by the sight of something we all have and we all have seen and not dismayed by the prospect of trying to explain what it was to their kids.
Frankly, the entire half time show was embarrassingly stupid and devoid of talent. At least, for me, and I'm certain I'm not all that unusual. It was just noisy, crude and childish.
]But what should we expect? When advertisers spend more than two million dollars because they think we will buy their product because we see a man get his genitals bitten by a dog or a young lady lighting horse gut wind, we are, I hope, being sadly underestimated. I will admit I laughed at the horse commercial (I don't remember what they were selling), it belongs more in a college dorm room than my living room.
On the other hand, I would hope the FCC could find more important things to investigate than to express its shock and ow by "investigating" CBS, MTV, etc. Especially not over the content of a program. That grinds away even more at an already badly battered First Amendment.
I wonder if Michael is mad at Janet for ruining the family name?