Compared to the devastation and slaughter that Keith Olbermann rained down on the NFL and the Minnesota Vikings over the past few days, tonight’s segment was a bit more tame. You don’t have to do much when things are basically unfolding exactly as one would expect.
Sponsors began to pipe up and complain about the recent string of bad situations the NFL has seemed to stumble through, namely Anheuser-Busch whose statement provided some rich commentary from users on Twitter. After yesterday afternoon’s report on Olbermann’s show and everyone under the sun demanding a pound of flesh, the Vikings changed their minds again and removed Purple Jesus from the field. He who is risen, has been laid to rest yet again, or some junk like that.
Is it really a shock things played out like this? I’d have to lean towards no. There have been countless times where someone has done something to outrage the populace, but those in charge did nothing until sponsors started to step away under public appeal.
Bag of bones Don Imus comes to mind as one who managed to fly through dark territory after referring to young women as “nappy headed hoes.” It wasn’t until the sponsors started to leave that he was forced to step away, and even then he returned.
When the big guns were pulled out by Busch and Nike, that’s when the hearts and minds started to change. It’s pathetic in a way, but understandable. If the NFL didn’t care enough about their players on the field, why would they care off the field. And when does anyone listen to public outcry? If they did, we’d be drinking Hitler flavored Mountain Dew, killing people who leave their pets in cars, and playing Charles Bronson when Wendy’s gets your order wrong.
When it affects how the NFL looks, that’s when they step in like some useless suburban dad and try to fix things. When a beer company is calling you out publicly, things look bad. The only problem is that they probably made themselves look a lot worse in the process.
(Via Keith Olbermann)
