House Party

Have you seen this commercial?




It features people I am assuming are football players who have apparently not won a Superbowl, looking across an outdoor bar area at another cabana where various football players and coaches (ones I actually recognize, ha!) are having a WAY better time.  The end tag line is "it's good to have a ring."  Pretty funny, and I sort of get why usher is in the video because I think the song playing is one of his.  But why is House there?  Did Hugh Laurie win a Superbowl I am unaware of?  Admittedly, I'm not as educated on football as I could be.

Oh Curling, How I Wish I Knew Ye

To say the coverage of curling at these Olympics has been extensive would be an understatement in my opinion. Every day and seemingly everytime, curling has been on. And while it is a mesmerizing sport (admit it- when you turn it on you can't look away), it is also a very confusing and mysterious sport as far as we Americans go. my husband and I have just spent over ann hour watching the women's gold medal match and we have no idea a) how it is scored, b) any of the rules or c) what they are even trying to do with each stone.

And the network does nothing to enlighten us.

This sport is weird. It is not popular here, it is barely even played here. But it is still kind of fun to watch. I for one think the gliding back and forth on their shoes looks like great fun (even though that isn't a part of the actual game), and it is interesting how they strategize and position their stones. Or it would be if I could strategize along with them.

When you watch figure skating, a sport that is super popular, super mainstream and very well uderstood by most Americans at least in the basics, you still hear Scott Hamilton explaining every little thing. Why every jump or turn or toe pick was good or how it was flawed; why the judges may have taken deductions (what those deductions would be) and where difficulty might lend extra point value. Every aspect is broken down and explained to us like we are children who have never seen the sport before whether or not that is true.

Well, with curling, it is. With curling we are all basically children who have never seen this sport before. Drooling idiots with not even the basic understanding of the rules, strategies and score keeping. I never thought I would ask for a network to dumb anything down further, but c'mon NBC, give me an explanation. Give me commentary that is actually useful and give me one of those stupid, annoying interruptions where some out of shape former athlete explains the bare bones of the sport. PLEASE.

I have no explanation for why they would have chosen to air curling so extensively without making any effort whatsoever towards helping the greater audience understand what they were watching. In every other sport (and indeed all aspects of media and news coverage on any subject) we are talked at constantly. Given excessive, detailed analysis of even the most obvious action. Why not now? I find it hard to believe they couldn't find an expert to take five minutes to explain the game on camera. But they didn't.

Instead they found commentators who spoke to each other like they were the only two in the room, and millions of people weren't listening in. They spoke with foreknowledge of the game, the players, the teams histories and the strategies that would be employed. And because they both had all of that knowledge they FAILED TO SHARE ANYTHING OF VALUE to those watching at home. They might as well have been speaking french.

It was insulting, and it was disappointing, to watch something so captivating and not be offered even a glimpse of insight into what was truly happening.

I feel like an anthropologist.

Yeah Yeah. But What Is Your Favorite Food?

In the spirit of my favorite sports blog, Booleyan Theory, (and by favorite I mean the only one I read) I have a comment on the NFL. I really hate it when they introduce the players at the beginning of every game and they say where they went to college. As a viewer with zero sports knowledge, I don't see why this is relevant. And I totally find it boring and stupid that grown men with professional jobs still have to share where they went to college. I wish they would say something like, "my favorite color is," or their howmetown or something. I get that it matters in sports somehow (my husband explained it once but I don't remember), I just wish they could share something else of interest rather than where they went to college.

Super Bowl Sunday Recap - In Progress

So, I know you are all waiting with baited mouse to scroll through my blog and see what I thought of all the ads this super Bowl. Well, you are just going to have to wait another day because between nighttime feedings every two hours and napping during the day I haven't gotten around to seeing them yet. But I promise I'll be working on it tonight and should have some opinions by tomorrow. Or I'll abandon the whole project and you will have to wait until next year for my scathing insights.

SuperAd Sunday

Well, it is time once again for that treasured of all American pastimes - watching the super sized commercials that are on during the SuperBowl. People all over the country will gather together and eat and drink copious amounts all to share the experience of watching these ads together. Okay, so football plays a small part in these parties, too, but I think it's mainly about the commercials. Anyway, I feel there has been sort of a downturn in recent years in the number of truly excellent SuperBowl ads - it seems that not as many are really funny or memorable. So I have high hopes for this year - especially since I'm looking for stuff to write about as my entries have been less than riveting this week. So let's get out the chips and dip, mix a white russian (or a beer if you're into the mundane), and, just for the heck of it - watch some football! (FYI - while I don't have much of a preference between the two teams, I think I may have to cheer on the Patriots - a perfect season is just too irresistable. Plus, no offense to Eli, but Tom is dishier.)