the inevitable espn
ESPN is ALWAYS on at our house, and not necessarily by my choice.
Now don’t get me wrong, it serves a good purpose sometimes. I do enjoy basketball and get into the games and I have caught myself getting to a football game or two when it involves the 49ers (who are near and dear to my husbands heart). When he’s excited and into it, I can’t help but be into it as well. Other than that, in my book it’s not deemed worthy enough to be on 24/7.
Let me break it down…
During football season, there is no getting away without having ESPN on. Since my husband is the biggest football fan I’ve ever met, he insists on watching every game that could possibly be on, all day, everyday. We even have the football package because regular programing just didn’t cut it. Add fantasy football and it’s a 6 month extravaganza filled with who to start, who is hurt and who to bench. They have commentators for this. That’s how serious it is that we need experts telling us who to put into our imaginary teams.
It’s not only the game he watches, but also the pre-game, post game, and any other commentary show that exists that encourages either retired players or people who wish they were players to talk about meaningless plays, what-was-going-through-their-mind analysis and interviews. The ones that boggle my mind are the interviews that asks the stupid questions like “what was going through your mind when you were running towards the goal line?”. I always want to answer for them, “um, I was thinking I should run as fast as I can so I don’t get hit and I can make a touchdown”.
Now during the off-season, it’s a different story with the potential of getting out of hand. A part of me think that it’s a suffering of withdrawal, of not having a football game on. I think this because during the off-season, I’ll catch the TV being on Nascar, tennis, and sometimes even golf. I know my husband has no interest in those sports, yet it’s on. Withdrawal?
I also am starting to think our TV has betrayed me and now just listens to Justin (Mya has a tendency to do this when I tell her to do something. She’ll look at Justin first as to say “your call, I don’t have to listen to her if you don’t want me to”). I think this because even if I go to bed leaving it on the Food Network, Lifetime (Greys reruns), or the OWN Network, when I turn it on in the morning I hear the signature sound of ESPN (“da na na, da na na! This is Sportscenter”). Dangit!
Off season should be exactly what it means, a time for rest. A time to gear up for next season, take some time off, spend time with family and friends and take it easy. That should apply to ESPN as well. In fact, ESPN should be turned off during that time (except when basketball is on, come on Rockets). I would love it if when it’s off-season and no worthy basketball game is on, when the channel is entered a black screen comes on and says “THIS CHANNEL IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE, WILL REACTIVATE IN AUGUST”. That would be a fun day 🙂
I have come to the fact that during football season, I’m not getting away from ESPN, and it’s something that I have learned to tolerate as part of a happy marriage. There is a flip side to that though, and it’s called The Bachelor, Bachelorette, Dancing With The Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, American Idol, The Voice, Greys Anatomy and Revenge.
