Yesterday I bragged on Facebook about my prediction, back in April, that the Giants would defeat the Tigers in the 2012 World Series. My sister Paula, with characteristic disregard for my tender feelings, posted a reply that began thusly, “Nobody cares, Doug.” She then pointed out that the television ratings for the World Series were less than the ratings for the latest Alabama v. LSU game, the insinuation being that college football is better because more people watch. I might counter with the fact that just because more people watch Jersey Shore than Parenthood doesn’t mean that Jersey Shore is “better”. But I cannot deny the fact that baseball has fallen from favor with most Americans. Fifty years ago it was the national pastime. Today it’s considered a relic of the past and is probably 4th or 5th in popularity among American sports fans. This sad fact joins many other things that are true but disappointing:
# Although God has created nothing that tastes better than bacon, it’s perhaps the most dangerous food for the human heart ever ingested by man. Why, God? Why do you do this to us?
# The most comfortable clothes in my closet always seem to be those that are the most egregiously out of style.
# Whenever I buy the latest technological device, it is declared obsolete as soon as I remove it from it’s box.
# People like Justin Bieber and Ke$ha become multi-millionaires before they can even vote, but classically trained musicians have to get second jobs at the Home Depot to make a living.
# The most Godly, wise, and hardest working pastors labor in obscurity, while the most ignorant and arrogant preachers end up on television.
# The New York Yankees and the Miami Heat exist as proof that money can buy championships. Not every year, but more often than not.
# Joe Paterno, Donald Trump, and Nancy Pelosi exist as proof that wisdom does not always come with age.
# Our political system stopped producing statesmen about the time that television was invented.
# Dwight Eisenhower and David Petraeus were both famous generals. They both had extramarital affairs. One became President, the other fodder for TMZ. Welcome to the Age of the Tabloid.
# Fifty years ago, Fifty Shades of Grey would only have been sold in seedy adult bookstores in bad parts of town. Today it is the number one selling novel in America.
# The vast majority of American flags are manufactured in…China.
# Although God has created nothing that tastes better than bacon, it’s perhaps the most dangerous food for the human heart ever ingested by man. Why, God? Why do you do this to us?
# The most comfortable clothes in my closet always seem to be those that are the most egregiously out of style.
# Whenever I buy the latest technological device, it is declared obsolete as soon as I remove it from it’s box.
# People like Justin Bieber and Ke$ha become multi-millionaires before they can even vote, but classically trained musicians have to get second jobs at the Home Depot to make a living.
# The most Godly, wise, and hardest working pastors labor in obscurity, while the most ignorant and arrogant preachers end up on television.
# The New York Yankees and the Miami Heat exist as proof that money can buy championships. Not every year, but more often than not.
# Joe Paterno, Donald Trump, and Nancy Pelosi exist as proof that wisdom does not always come with age.
# Our political system stopped producing statesmen about the time that television was invented.
# Dwight Eisenhower and David Petraeus were both famous generals. They both had extramarital affairs. One became President, the other fodder for TMZ. Welcome to the Age of the Tabloid.
# Fifty years ago, Fifty Shades of Grey would only have been sold in seedy adult bookstores in bad parts of town. Today it is the number one selling novel in America.
# The vast majority of American flags are manufactured in…China.
Unlike Paula, I very much cared that the Giants won the World Series as I have been a Giants fan since the days of Mays, Marichal, and McCovey and later on Gaylord Perry, Bobby Bonds Will Clark, Jeff Kent, and Barry Bonds. Two of the last three years! Go Giants!
ReplyDeleteYou and me Paul. We're the only ones who care!!
ReplyDelete