For the Olympics, TV contracts own the gold. When there were only a few sources for updates, delaying the events made sense. Even then, I wished there had been one channel where you could watch live if you wanted. My friend Doreen and I were probably the only two who got up in the middle of the night to watch the Australian Open. It was fun.
Messing with the ongoing drama is another thing. Apparently, NBC decided not to show how the Russian gymnast fell, thus the Russians had no chance of winning. The announcers knew it. We did not. Why ruin the suspense? When the Olympics, the ultimate reality show, becomes just another made-for-TV drama, why ruin it indeed.
Of course, I'm still bummed that because of TV contracts we never get daytime World Series games. Remember when the sun bounced off the bunting? Remember when kids could go to a BIG game? I went to one and I still remember.
Hi Joan,
ReplyDeleteI agree - it was exciting setting the alarm clock to be up at some upgodly hour to watch a game and know you were feeling the excitement of the crowd at that moment that history might be made. It's not the same watching a "rerun".
On another note, I did not have a chance to leave a comment about the shooting out here in Colorado. Your words and your bloggers' words of concern were greatly appreciated. I have to say that since I have been living here, I honestly feel like I am more likely to be shot out here than I ever did in Chicago - people out here love their guns and they don't want anyone to get in the way. Colorado is one of the states where gun fatalities outnumber traffic accident fatalities. The thing that distresses me most is that as a society, we seem to be saying that it is acceptable to us that these horrible shootings happen in the interests of our "right to bear arms". That we accept the shooting of even one innocent person and the ruination of entire families to prop up a gross misintepretation of the 2nd Amendment is inutterably perverse to me. The opinion has even been voiced on Talk Radio out here that this incident should be laid at the feet of gun-control advocates, because if everyone else at the theatre had been packing a weapon, they could have taken the shooter out. I certainly hope that we wake up on this issue before we become a country where it will be considered unamerican and unpatriotic not to be carrying a weapon. We are really in the midst of some dark times - I hope we decide to turn the light on.
Take care of yourselves,
Pam
I still remember going to a world series game. It was the milwuakee braves and I sat right behind home plate. everything changes.
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