And now the Superbowl, too?

I just got done reading an article on TPM that gave a preview of what to expect on Superbowl Sunday by our good friends at Fox News.  In addition to their normal snide remarks and bad commentary during the game, we are also going to have to put up with their POLITICAL commentary.  Yes, you heard that right: The Official News Channel of the GOP is going to mix politics with the Great American Game.  Follow me for a rant after the break.

Look.  I know that NFL is a bunch of millionaires playing for billionaires, the game is way over commercialized and most of them are probably on steroids.  But, I like having one Sunday a year where I can get together with some friends, eat a bunch of junk food, throw back a couple of Fat Tires and watch a over-hyped game and a bunch of lame commercials.  It's the American in me.

In short, I am looking for a respite of the day-to-day grind - a bit of escapism if you will.  But now Fox is going to go and take that all away and give me a bunch of crap about how the 'candidates' view the game, financial analysis from their 'faith based' investment channel on how the commercials will help the companies who pay for them and probably a 'liberal' dose of their editorial analysis of both.  I will vomit if I watch this.

So I hereby make a pledge to simply skip the game this year.  I will probably better off because of it.  I wonder what KO thinks of all of this?

•  Mojo risin'

  Anybody know what else I can do on this day to escape the daily grind?

  by RichM on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 02:42:50 PM PDT

  •  The observer link isn't working n/t

    by bustacap on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 02:47:54 PM PDT

    •  Hmmm...

      It works for me in both Firefox and IE...

      by RichM on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 02:52:42 PM PDT

      •  had to reload it once but it finally loaded

        for me in firefox.  I think it's a glitch at the observer.  

        by dougymi on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:12:35 PM PDT

  •  I heard that the Chargers were going to withdraw

    because the media narrative said that the important race was between Indianapolis and New England.

    Whoops!  That was last week.  Never mind.  Sometimes those also rans will surprise you.

    by MadScientist on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:26:38 PM PDT

    •  I think it is awesome...

      That the Chargers and the Giants are still in it.

      by RichM on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:28:00 PM PDT

  •  On the Brightside...

    ....New episode of "House" right after the Superbowl on Fox.  

    Well, it's something to look forward to, at least.

    by Bailey on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 04:13:33 PM PDT

•  Proud to be an NFL owner

  And I'm not a billionaire. I own one share of stock in the Green Bay Packers, the only publicly-owned team in pro sports and a possible participant in this year's Super Bowl. Cheer for us, and stick it to the man.

  Go Packers!

  by Korkenzieher on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 02:51:08 PM PDT

  •  Cheesehead!

    Go Packers.

    by ek hornbeck on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 02:58:18 PM PDT

  •  Just from curiousity,

    how does that work?  You buy a share or shares, I assume.  Do you get dividends?  Is the stock traded on an exchange?  Or is it some kind of public and/or govt. arrangement?

    How did this alternative ownership come about?

    by seeker on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 02:58:48 PM PDT

    •  It works like this:

      At certain times approved of by the NFL, the Packers make stock available for about $200 a share. This is not publically traded stock. We don't get dividends. If we don't want it anymore, we sell it back to the team. The Packers are a non-profit organization, totally community owned with a Board of Directors.

      There's an annual report and an annual meeting that all shareholders can attend (I've been to a few) and can ask questions of the Board, the GM or the President of the organization. It's really cool. We also get to vote on who's on the Board of Directors. We hear all the financial reports.

      Those of us who bought stock did so to support our team, not to make money. I decided I'd rather have stock than pay $200 for a Packers jacket or something.

      And, no, it's not allowable for any other NFL team. The Packers, who have been around sincd 1919, were grandfathered in with this system. Originally, the team, founded by Curly Lambeau, didn't even have the money for uniforms so the guys could play. Several of the meat packing companies in Green Bay got together and bought the uniforms. Thus the team became the Green Bay Packers.

      by ccr4nine on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:08:28 PM PDT

    •  No dividends

      The stock has no cash value. We get no dividends. The Packers are a publicly-owned, non-profit corporation. Yes, non-profit. All profits that they do make, which obviously are considerable, are immediately reinvested in the corporation, for anything from a new practice field to improvements at Lambeau Field to a new helmet for Brett Favre. There are no corporate fatcats skimming millions off the top.

      The Packers offered a stock sale ten years ago. 200 dollars per share. Hundreds of thousands got in on it, and in terms of cash benefit all we got was a very handsome stock certificate suitable for framing.

      The ownership structure remains essentially unchanged from the days when it was founded as a football club, an actual club, in 1919. Everyone else in the NFL turned their team into a capitalist enterprise. The Packers never did so, at least in terms of corporate structure.

      It's a glorious anachronism, and we're damn proud of it.

      by Korkenzieher on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:13:51 PM PDT

      •  Cool!

        I had no idea.

        by TracieLynn on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 07:38:53 PM PDT

  •  I'm an NFL owner too

    I also own stock in the Green Bay Packers (Go Pack!) so if my beloved team is indeed in the Super Bowl there's no way I won't watch it. If they are not there, I'll probably watch anyway. But I agree, Fox needs to leave the sports part alone.

    by ccr4nine on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:02:15 PM PDT

  •  The Pats own everybody

    game over!

    by NYFM on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:09:04 PM PDT

  •  Too bad your team won't be playing :-)

    Go Giants!

    by kosophile on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:11:17 PM PDT

    •  thanks

      We're very very very glad here the Giants beat the Cowboys and that therefore the game will be in Lambeau Field.

      Our quarterback is a southerner who is used to the brutal cold that we'll have on Sunday. Your southerner quarterback, not so much. But who knows? We'll see what happens...

      by Korkenzieher on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:20:41 PM PDT

      •  'tain't so brutal

        Not nowadays with global warming

        by ScrewySquirrel on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:26:26 PM PDT

        •  High of 5 on Sunday...

          Predicted.  Icebowl II?

          by RichM on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:29:52 PM PDT

      •  Yeah Eli's been terrible in cold weather so far

        And it's supposed to be freezing on Sunday.

        But one thing we can agree on -- it's great that Dallas won't be playing.

        by kosophile on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 06:01:25 PM PDT

  •  GO, PACK, GO !!!!

    Cheese for everyone !

    by maxalb on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:27:18 PM PDT

•  It doesn't sound like it's at game time

  It sounds like they are talking about a 3 hour pregame thing with news and pictures of preparation.

  by william shipley on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 02:51:29 PM PDT

  •  I sure hope so

    Because I ain't lying, I will organize a boycott of the game if they try to squeeze in their hackery with anything close to the game.

    by maxomai on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:13:07 PM PDT

    •  How will you know?

      Until you watch the game?

      by RichM on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:14:56 PM PDT

  •  Sounds like FOX NEWS not

    Fox network sports.

    They actually do try to keep politics out of the games. This came up once before when someone thought FOX sports was playing with sound levels to make it seem the fans were cheering Bush Sr. more than they were. But if memory service me it turns out it was not true and someone who works for FOX sports said that they really DO try to keep politics out of the football game coverage.

    Don't watch FOX News, but go ahead and watch the New York Giants play the San Diego Chargers in the Super Bowl.

    by se portland on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:54:53 PM PDT

    •  Good luck with that

      if the Chargers QB and biggest offensive threat are both dinged up, they're gonna have a hellofa time getting by the Patriots.

      I heard Rivers strained his MCL in the Indy game...

      by Independant Man on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 04:09:10 PM PDT

•  what are you talking about?

  The game will still take place, and be called by normal sportscasters, right? Then waht's the problem? What do you care what Fox News has on before hand, the game's not on Fox News. Would you boycott The Daily Show because Fox News on their own channel did a half hour run up to each episode?

  by Marcion on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 02:51:46 PM PDT

  •  Not so sure...

    The article does say it is run-up coverage, but that doesn't mean that they won't sprinkle it in during the game.  

    by RichM on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 02:56:17 PM PDT

    •  yes it does

      You don't know how football works. It's a religion. At worst there might be something during halftime, but nobody watches that anyway. The game is holy, nobody will mess with the playcalling.

      by Marcion on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 02:58:18 PM PDT

•  hmm

  This could potentially backfire.  In many ways, the Super Bowl is a holiday and football works like a religion.  If Fox is seen as profaning that "religion" with something as base as politics, they may just piss most people off.

  by froggywomp on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 02:52:31 PM PDT

•  not to worry

  the Fox newscast of the Cowboy-Giants game featured a not-so-flattering parody of Bush.

  The real question obtains:

  Cheeseheads or Giants?

  Pats or the Lighting Bolts?

  I'll go with the Cheesheads vs. the Pats, with the Pats completing the perfect season.

  by onanyes on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 02:52:42 PM PDT

  •  If I had to choose...

    Pats having the perfect season and a Republican wining the White House, I'd go with the Republican. I have my priorities.

    by Marcion on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 02:54:00 PM PDT

    •  enough Brady fellatio already?

      I'd love to see the announcers fitted with shock collars that go off every 1000th mention of Brady in a game.  Over-Under odds could be posted for how often the go off.  I'll take over 41.

      -7.75 -4.67

      "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose."

      by Odysseus on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:01:12 PM PDT

      •  Patriots = PATRIOT Act

        They started winning after 9/11. Coincidence? Observe the ra ra colors, the cop mentality, the obvious preference for cheating over the truth. The Patriots are the team of W's America.

        by Marcion on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:04:01 PM PDT

        •  I will be cheering for the cheeseheads

          After all, their record now stands at 14-3.  Guess where "2" of that "3" came from?

          One hint:

          

          Ok, ok, I'm over sulking about this season. Almost. :-)

          by onanyes on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:20:26 PM PDT

        •  The Pats

          have been the red, white and blue Patriots since the 60's.  And they didn't cheat.  The Jets did the same thing to the Patriots the last game they played last year, only the Patriots didn't rat them out.

          by LimosineLiberal on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 04:36:45 PM PDT

  •  I agree

    since the Pack started getting hot I've saying that it'd provide a nice symmetry to beat them in the 'Bowl, since they handed us our ass the first time we got to the big show in the "Flyin' Elvis" era.

    by Independant Man on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 04:12:53 PM PDT

•  I have known a bunch of people

  who hated the TV sportscasters for games, so they put the game on the TV, put it on mute, and turn on a radio.

  You might still have to see them sometimes, but you can have your laptop nearby to block that out...?

  by mem from somerville on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 02:53:27 PM PDT

  •  always do that for red sox games

    I'll go out of my way to get Joe Castiglione over Buck/McCarver any time.  (No cable here, so I can only watch the nationally broadcast games)

    by just a dad on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:05:22 PM PDT

  •  I used to do that...

    ...For Cubs games.

    by maxomai on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:17:20 PM PDT

•  Super Bowl Trivia Question:

  (this is somewhat tricky)

  During the last 20 Super Bowls, including the upcoming Super Bowl XLII, the Buffalo Bills have the most losses, having lost four in a row (XXV, XXVI, XXVII and XXVIII).  Which NFL franchise is in 2nd place for the most Super Bowl losses during that period, and how many have they lost?

  by Greasy Grant on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 02:53:45 PM PDT

  •  I had to look it up...

    It looks like a three-way tie:  Broncos, Dolphins and Pats with two apiece.

    by RichM on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:05:27 PM PDT

    •  I found it interesting that...

      other than the Buffalo Bills' bad streak, 15 different franchises have lost exactly one Super Bowl over the past 19 seasons.  Whoever loses the next one (Packers, Giants, Patriots or Chargers) will break the tie; each of them is among the teams that have lost one.  The others are the Bengals, Broncos, Steelers, Falcons, Titans, Rams, Raiders, Panthers, Eagles, Seahawks and Bears.

      by Greasy Grant on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:24:34 PM PDT

      •  Wanna know which team has the most championships?

        The Green Bay Packers, of course. They have 12.

        Welcome to Title Town, USA! We didn't get that name for nothing. We're damn proud of our team.

        by ccr4nine on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:50:54 PM PDT

        •  Off topic (lol)

          This is a thread about the Fox network, so I thought a comment about losers was more appropriate ;-)

          by Greasy Grant on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:55:48 PM PDT

          •  Ha, ha, ha. ROTFLMAO! n/t

            by ccr4nine on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 04:18:43 PM PDT

•  Mitsubishi...

  has pulled their 2 30 second spots because they didn't think their consumers would appreciate them spending the money given the economy.

  by ek hornbeck on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 02:56:51 PM PDT

•  This is almost as bad

  as Paula Abdul performing at the Super Bowl.

  WTFcares?  I only watch for the occassionally funny commercial.

  by rf7777 on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 02:56:52 PM PDT

•  Sounds like European soccer!

  I know that NFL is a bunch of millionaires playing for billionaires

  I concur with you, a few beers & hot dogs with good mates in a crowded stadium has its charms.

  by Asinus Asinum Fricat on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:00:37 PM PDT

•  Chips and Politics

  It is disturbing how capitalism and politics can really spoil something as great as the Superbowl.  The 2006 Superbowl is the second-most watched program in U.S. television history with 141.1 million viewers, so it is quite a strategic move for the folks at Fox to commit such an avaricious act for this upcoming Superbowl.  This is a foreshadow of many political interjections that are soon to come.  I would not be surprised to see Giuliani in the next House episode having an operation while he tells the viewers why they should vote for him.
     Seperation of the church and state by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution was a significant but now a futile attempt for the people to have a system of checks and balances with the US government intervening their daily lives.  What's next?  Should there be an Amendment established that calls for seperation of sports and state.  Power-hungry, money-driven politicians are doing anything they can to win, and I do not know about you, but I fear what the political interjections in the future encompass.      

  by Alxcruz4 on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 03:23:04 PM PDT

  •  It works really well for the folks who are

    not able to tell fact from fiction, infotainment from news and sports from reality.

    Boycott all thing Fox - including the stupor bowl.

    by shigeru on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 04:12:37 PM PDT

•  The stupor bowl has often

  been a right wing hoe-down. From the Vietnam war days to the present. Unfortunately this year it is on Fox, so will be even worse and more blatant than usual. Our best recourse? Don't watch it.

  by shigeru on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 04:10:10 PM PDT

•  Ok. I guess this is an appropriate thread.

  Unabashedly stolen from coldhardfootballfacts.com:

  You're locked in a cage with a hungry grizzly, a starving tiger and a Steelers fan.  You have a gun, but only two bullets.  What do you do?

  Shoot the steelers fan.  Twice.

  Seriously, I'll watch the game.  However, if the political commentary detracts in any way, I'll be starting a letter-writing campaign to the league office and to all the teams and major advertisers vowing to boycott any future NFL game broadcast on Fox.

  by sxwarren on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 04:32:04 PM PDT

•  Limbaugh on ESPN

  Do they never learn?

  by jhecht on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 04:45:06 PM PDT

•  I think this will be confined to the morning.....

  The "political" end of the broadcast, I believe, is before the normal Super Bowl Pregame. Usually the pregame telecast begins around 1PM EST on gameday, the political stuff will be ahead of the normal pregame time....I think it starts around 9-10AM.

  Once the usual Super Bowl pregame begins, and especially as we approach kickoff through the afternoon, the political stuff will disappear, primarily confined to that 3 hour morning slot. As right wing leaning as the NFL and product can sometimes be, I really don't think the NFL wants to polarize or taint the broadcast to the point of pissing off thier audience - which is MUCH larger on Super Sunday than for the typical Sunday game. The NFL has very specific control over the broadcast on gameday, and as much as the NFL and ownership may be republican, I doubt the NFL wants to risk the position of its marquee game being a defacto national holiday.

  As much as it would be my normal fashion to ignore the broadcast for the political pregame, there's no way in hell I would miss out on Super Sunday. I have watched every Super Bowl, either in person or on TV since Super Bowl Nine (IX). I'm not skipping it just because it's on FOX. On Super Sunday my activism will just have to take a day off :-)

  by Audible Nectar on Thu Jan 17, 2008 at 04:56:06 PM PDT

•  Part of Murdoch's genius

  as a political and corporate propagandist was in realizing the the movie Soylent Green was not merely fiction, but a good predictor of the future corporate state! This is what we get folks for buying all this. Our only hope is to quickly free ourselves from as much of this as quickly as we can. Stop watching this and other corporate fiestas such as American Idiot et al.

  Btw I love football as a sport, having played it in Jr. High, High School and after. I just cannot stand it and all the hype anymore. It is sickening.
  Btw II Even my grandfather who is very conservative has given up on it unless his son's alma mater is playing. He also hates the hype, but is also dismissive of the fake religiosisity. Something I had never noticed.

  by shigeru on Fri Jan 18, 2008 at 02:30:15 PM PDT