Well I guess I’m not quite as shocked as the rest of the world.
When I sat down in front of the TV with two teen-age boys, my
husband and my 7-year-old to watch the half time show of the Super
Bowl, my jaw did drop. I was speechless and I wanted to wash
someone’s mouth out with soap, but I can’t say that I was
shocked.
We just got satellite TV a view months ago because our reception
had gotten so bad we couldn’t get the evening news. It was when I
started perusing the channels that I was shocked. Not one for
reading the operating manuals for most products, I immediately
picked up the directions and started putting locks on stations and
ratings as fast as my fingers would allow.
MTV is by far one of the most outrageous and raunchy channels
out there and guess what channel kids want to watch the most? While
I do not disagree with the National Football League’s “extreme
disappointment,” I am a little bewildered that CBS – and the NFL
for that matter – didn’t see something like this coming from a
network group that consistently goes for the old
shock-a-roo.
The NFL commissioner, speaking on national news, said MTV would
never produce a half-time show for the Super Bowl again. Way to
stand up for your principles, guys. But I’m feeling like the pot is
calling the kettle black again.
Don’t get me wrong. I think MTV, Jackson and Timberlake should
be fined along with CBS by the Federal Communication Commission up
to the $27,500 limit per station. I don’t care to see another
MTV-produced show, half-time or not. But I wonder why MTV should
get the ax forever, when athletes who make poor character judgments
get a slap on the wrist and a fine instead of the last
goodbye.
I guess the difference is the FCC’s rule that non-cable TV
channels cannot air “obscene” material at any time and cannot air
“indecent” material between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Or do we just make
exceptions?
I am not a big sports fan. Unless one of my children or someone
I know is playing, I would rather read a book. However, because my
children are deep into sports and the performing arts, I am
extremely interested in the character those role models exemplify.
I am sad to say, you have to really look for people in those
positions who are strong enough to live up to the bar. While it
might be considered unfair to set such high standards for athletes
and performers, they are the ones who get paid the big bucks to
have us watch their every move. And, and when those moves are in
direct opposition to what we know to be right, I’ve got a
problem.
Peter Roby, director of the Center for the Study of Sport in
Society at Northeaster University in Boston, Mass., wrote about
Pete Rose and his 14 years of deceit about betting on baseball.
Although Roby did not question Rose’s accomplishments and dominance
in baseball, he took the stand that integrity should be part of the
equation for inclusion into the Hall of Fame.
He used as a case in point the Black Sox Scandal of 1919, in
which eight Chicago White Sox players allegedly conspired to throw
the World Series. Out of that scandal came Rule No. 21 (d) to
permanently ban clubs, players, officials and umpires for betting
on games in which they are involved.
One of the group, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson was thrown out of the
game forever, and Roby thought the same should be true for
Rose.
Now even I know that football and baseball are not the same
sport. And I also know that gambling and flashing a nearly bare
breast are not close to the same thing.
However, maybe it’s time we take a look at what we find
acceptable and by whom.
Should a company be banned from producing a half-time show when
players violate their own standards of taking drugs and drinking,
to name a few, and simply pay the fine and return to their
positions of wealth and esteem?
I don’t know. I’m just a wife and mother trying to have a little
quality time with the guys in front of the nationally televised
championship football game. When I clapped my hand over my mouth,
they were clapping their hands and cheering. What’s a mother to
do?
Karen Kendig is the
managing editor of the
Elbert County News.