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Monday, July 6, 2009
Fox, Manny, etc.

There is outrage in the land. How dare Fox cut away from precious Phillies at-bats, showing them in split-screen, to watch Manny Ramirez play for the Dodgers? How dare a television network -- as ESPN did during his minor-league rehab at-bats; rehab, heh, heh -- glorify this cheating piece of scum?

I've got news for you. Television does not lead opinion, it follows it. Television makes money by giving people what they want, not by offering castor oil.

They showed people Manny because people wanted to see Manny.

Because people aren't mad at Manny.

Because people have made their peace with Manny and the rest of the scurrilous lot of them, viewing their steroidal transgressions in the same way they view alcohol-fueled celebrity hijinks. You know, as entertainment.

I've been saying this for a while, only to be scolded by All Good and Righteous People and pretty much ignored by the other 95 percent of the population. This whole post is just an excuse to offer a link to something written by the great Charlie Pierce, who happens to say the same thing with a lot more ability than I could muster.

That's it. And enjoy the ballgame.

Posted by Rich Hofmann @ 1:33 PM  Permalink | 12 comments
12
Comments   
Posted 01:29 PM, 07/06/2009
Icemannj
I would disagree and mention that there is a difference between "people aren't mad at Manny" and that people have now dismissed Manny as legitimate baseball player. So, yes, Manny is entertaining now to many folks and the media pumps up its coverage, but at the end of the day, Manny is no different than the Bonds etc. group and will be treated accordingly. People know better.
Posted 01:45 PM, 07/06/2009
Ashburn072
The one thing consistent about sports fans- they will tolerate an athlete taking performance enhancing drugs, using corked bats or emery boards on balls, physically abuse their spouse, drive drunk, avoid paying taxes, and just every other illegality on the books. Just don't be cruel to dogs and you get a free pass~
Posted 03:37 PM, 07/06/2009
Souf Phil
ashburn - great point. did you know that you can get drunk and run a guy over with your car, killing him, and go to jail for 30 days. However, if you kill some dogs, you get a sentence nearly 24X longer. As for Manny, perhaps fans should start to stand and face away from the field when he bats.
Posted 03:37 PM, 07/06/2009
mebphila
Manny has always been a talent - having a bat like his (combined with say a David Ortiz - even deadlier!) in the lineup is deadly for opposing teams. However, how can one not be jaded now - as the steroid era puts up another casualty. Manny is now a total "circus sideshow" - he commands the media attention now for his "Manny being Manny" schtick as much as he does (perhaps more so?) for his talent. Like T.O. - who is a sideshow freak (but has NEVER been linked to PED's) - he will continue to be the train wreck now of MLB - horrifying, thrilling, gruesome - and yet - we are forced now to NOT "look away". I do wonder why we weren't privy to cut-away shots of JC Romero's rehab appearances during his suspension. I guess he's just not "circus freaky" enough - Romero's just one of the World Champions. Que Lastima.
Posted 03:51 PM, 07/06/2009
MFPhils
getting enjoyment out of hurting something is in another league...moron
Posted 03:52 PM, 07/06/2009
MFPhils
people like watching Manny because they are waiting for him to do something crazy...he's just become a tool in the end.
Posted 04:00 PM, 07/06/2009
MFPhils
Sou - I agree 100%. Since we both think that negligent crimes should hold the same weight as pre-meditated, let's charge every drunk driver with attempted murder in the 1st degree. By planning to drink and drive, they pre-meditated, and the attempted murder is obvious. I am dead serious...
Posted 06:14 PM, 07/06/2009
jkard99
I'm not sure exactly how "television" knows that the people want to see Manny's first at-bat back. Does "television" have ESP? This is an idiotic blog post that makes the mistake of assuming TV is some monolithic psychic entity. The producers at Fox sports decided to break into the Phillies game to show the At-bat, and people are right to be outraged.
Posted 06:34 PM, 07/06/2009
DennisAtwell
Rich, I love your work and read you always, however, I think you, FOX and John McCain misread the pulse of the American public. Sarah Palin gets headlines too, but nobody cares...
Posted 10:52 PM, 07/06/2009
androoo
Let's be honest here. Fox was hoping to show the fans in SD boo like crazy for Manny (which you couldn't see/hear) and then Manny shutting them up with a HR. They wanted the first highlight on national tv of Manny giving it to SD, but it didn't happen. It was Fox taking a gamble and it backfired. Not only because no one outside of LA cares or even respects Manny, but that nothing happened. Fox screwed up. Personally, I like Fox Sports, but Manny is more annoying than all the mosquitoes around here this time of year. Probably won't happen, but I'm rooting for the Dodgers to either not make the playoffs or get eliminated early on. I don't want to hear about Manny in the Playoff spotlight in Oct.
Posted 10:57 PM, 07/06/2009
Wally 24
The saddest thing about our society is TV can put anything it wishes in front of you and you will allow it. TV and the News media believe they can shape our everyday world with their spin on what ever they deam news worthy. People please understand that if you change the channel it is tracked and when the numbers of viewers go down they will change their tactics. Radio is another alternative. Many years ago you couldn't always get the game on TV and had to rely on radio which actually was more fun. You had to create your own mental pictures of what happened based on the announcers description. It made for some interesting conversation the next day. There are ways to fight back.
Posted 07:11 AM, 07/07/2009
mick314
Fox should have run a special on the great Charlie Pierce or Jimmy Piersall or PHILLY10 instead.
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About Rich Hofmann
Rich Hofmann arrived at the Daily News in 1980 for a job whose status was officially designated as "full-time, temporary." A senior at Penn at the time, he was hired to fill in on the copy desk during a staff illness. The notion of him covering the Eagles or being a columnist did not exist in anyone's imagination. It was supposed to be six weeks and out, but he never left. It is only one of the reasons why so many people have concerns about him as a potential house guest. Rich has blogged the postseasons of the Flyers and Eagles.

You can now follow The Idle Rich on Twitter.
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