Like many other people, I watched the Alex Rodriguez press conference today. I know I railed against all of the coverage, and I said I simply turn it off, but this was a little different, because as a Yankee fan, I wanted to see how this is going to affect my team as Spring Training gets going.
At least that’s how I justified it to myself. So how did the press conference go, overall?
Was the deck stacked in Alex’s (and the Yankees) favor, with follow-up questions not being permitted?
Yep.
Was Alex’s statement dry and pretty much boiler-plate?
Yep.
Could you or I have pretty much guessed exactly what he would say before he even went up there?
“Mystery cousin” not withstanding, yep again.
So, essentially, we got exactly what we were expecting. So why did I immediately hear and read various members of the media (Mike Francesa for one) screaming and hollering that he didn’t “give us enough.”
Hold on a moment there, Mikey. What exactly did you want him to give us?
“Ladies and Gentlemen, thanks for coming down to my public crucifixion, er…hanging, umm…press conference today. I’m here to tell you…actually wait…LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING BROTHER… I did steroids. Every day. All day. I did steroids with a fox. I even did them in a box. In fact, I’m sucking on a steroid lozenge as I sit here right now. HGH? I did that too. I sprinkle it on my Cheerios every day. I snort it off of strippers’ asses every time I visit Toronto. I have provided Performance Enhancing Drugs to every teammate I’ve ever had, I even give them to the ballgirls. I LOVES ME SOME MOTHERFUCKIN’ STEROIDS…YEAHHHH!!!!”
“Mr. Rodriguez will now take some questions. Or if the assembled media prefers, you may pick up your provided slings and arrows now.”
What if A-Rod’s story was boring because it was true? He was a stupid kid/adult that did a stupid thing, and he got results (the stats from 2001-2003 don’t lie), so he kept doing it. Then one day he was afraid he’d get caught, so he stopped. Makes sense to me.
Well, in today’s media environment, that simply won’t do. We need some sizzle with our steak. In fact, we’d like extra sizzle please, hold the steak. The media shark only knows one speed: frenzy. Chew it up, spit it out, lather, rinse, and repeat for the next news “cycle”.
Do you remember Hurricane Ivan? Do you remember those poor bastard reporters that had to stand in the wind and rain in New Orleans waiting for the Devastation (capital “D”) that never came? Could they have been any more disappointed? That’s kind of my point; it’s gotten to where the major media outlets want things to be as terrible as they possibly can be so that they have something interesting to frenzy over, before moving onto the next shiny object.
When is enough enough? Or is it too late? When does the media as we currently know it simply collapse under the weight of all of this nonsense? Where do you go for coverage of real stories, real news? You know, things that are actually interesting?
Of course, you could always just come down here and chum some of this shit…
Feen, I don’t know if you’re a professional writer in some capacity, but you somehow manage to entertain me even when I have no interest in your subject matter at all.
Comment by iscariot83 — February 17, 2009 @ 9:39 pm
Professional writer? This guy?
I wish.
No, seriously. I do.
I sincerely appreciate the kind words, man. I really love doing this thing, and I’m glad some folks dig it.
Comment by feenwager — February 17, 2009 @ 10:14 pm
I assume by now you’ve read Jayson Stark’s “piece” on espn.com. You may refer to it as “Exhibit A.”
Comment by Kevin — February 18, 2009 @ 6:50 am
I did read Stark’s article, and it’s a shame because I like him. He’s a good guy, and generally a good writer.
The problem is, why do they seem to feel we need to know every single detail? He’s admitted that he took a banned substance, apologized, and he’s come up clean ever since. He’s even pointed out the seasons he played “under the influence”. Why do we need to know exactly what he did, when he did it, and where he did it? Again, we’re confusing public servants and politicians with a baseball player. We don’t have a right to know in this case.
Comment by feenwager — February 18, 2009 @ 9:39 am
Shit…I guess this Alex Rodriguez Starting Lineup isn’t worth the dust that’s been coating it now.
Comment by Chris Whittington — February 18, 2009 @ 3:28 pm
Yes Marco, you have my srouppt and availability – if you want to have me share my social media experience and present strategy, I am fully available. Look forward to hear from you!
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Comment by wodnczfdf — February 8, 2012 @ 11:58 am