davefromqueens stirred a
brief flurry earlier this week over whether or not ESPN had inserted canned cheers into the audio feed of Monday Night Football when former president and chief argument for sterilization George H.W. Bush tossed the coin at the beginning of the Saints-Falcons game.
I tossed in a comment relating generally to the practice of fluffing audio for TV broadcast, under the heading "I don't even have two cents."
Today, M. came by and gave me another penny.
M. was leading one of the crews dragging the stage for the pregame show on and off the field. He watched the coin toss from about twenty yards away from the former prez. This is his account:
When Bush went out onto the field, the dome crowd was already yelling themselves hoarse, so much so that the introduction was barely audible. Of those who did hear the intro, M. reports that about half started clapping and cheering and half booing, "not really against him so much as `Hey, get this old fart of the field and start the damn game!'"
Through it all, according to M., there was enough generic, three-hours-of-sucking-foam-before-they-opened-the-doors cheering and whooping that ESPN could have simply turned on one of the crowd mike channels to boost the cheering for the broadcast feed.
So, there's a literal on-the-ground report on the issue. And if you think that a diary on this anecdote is a big pot of gumbo for one oyster, M. threw in a little something to spice it up.
After the toss, GHWB walked across the field to glad hand the crowd, approaching M. with outstretched hand. M., a Marine who'd watched 200 mates killed at the embassy in Beruit then been ordered to withdraw by GHWB's senile boss, is no fan of Republican presidents. Staring GHWB in the eye, he crossed his arms, tucking his hands up and shook his head. Poppy noted his refusal with what M. took as a respectful nod and shook with the younger volunteers nearby.
Petty? Rude? Maybe, but M. tells me he restrained himself from yelling, "Shoulda left that load on the floor, old man!" Instead, as Bush ambled away, M. just shrugged and muttered, "Go, Navy."
M. is more of a gentleman than I'll ever be.
(I've repeated davefromqueens' tags for this diary).