Let me get this straight:
In a state where property taxes are through the roof, gas prices are heading back that way, traffic is a fucking nightmare and its two biggest cities are chock full of murderes, rapists and battered children, a U.S. Senator is worried about a shitty football game not being on TV.
Yes, Jerseyans, that is what's going on here.
In case you missed it, Sen. Frank Lautenberg has written a letter to the head of the NFL Network pleading him to get the highly anticipated Houston Bowl on free TV. He's used phrases like "we will fight this" and "not gonna stand for this" when it comes to this tremendous injustice.
If you're not one of the thousand or so people who really care about Rutgers football, the Knights' clash with mighty Kansas State is scheduled to be shown exclusively on the NFL Network. And unless you have Comcast Digital Cable or a satellite dish, you will be watching Rutgers and North Carolina on the hardwood on 12/28 instead of what some are calling the other BCS Title game from Reliant Stadium.
Does that suck? It certainly does. It is annoying? Absolutely. Is it a reason for U.S. Senator to get involved? Absolutely not. Anyone who followed the YES Network's dispute with Cablevision in NYC knows a U.S. Senator and a few put off RU fans are not going to make the a-holes at the NFL Network and the Cable Companies give in. There's too much money at stake and they don't give a shit about the fans.
As for Lautenberg, it's a great grandstanding move, but c'mon dude, get real. Yes, RU fever is running rampant like E.Coli these days, but in all honestly, how many people are really looking forward to this game. Had it been last year's Insight.com bowl, I could see his point. Rutgers hadn't played in a bowl game in decades and it was a big deal. To me, the Houston Bowl is a shitty consolation prize. A week ago, Rutgers was minutes away from playing in the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day and now they are heading for The Houston Bowl. Whoop de damn do. It would be comparable to the Jets missing the playoffs on the last day of the season and then playing the Arizona Cardinals 5 weeks later.
Please, Senator Lautenberg, focus your efforts on shit that matters to everyone in the state. Instead of typing up a letter to a station that thinks Bryant Gumbel is talented, pay a visit to Newark or Camden or talk to some single parent working two jobs just so they pay their property taxes and put gas in their tank so they can get to their minimum wage job.
P.S. - The Pendleton Household does get the NFL Network and will charging RU fans just $5 a head to see the game. Beer will be extra.
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6 comments:
You're an angry man
Lautenberg is just doing this for publicity. I can't rip the NFL Network for trying to use this as leverage to cable systems. Who sold them the game in the first place?
I might have to take you up on that $5 offer. Hopefully, at that point you will be in the final stages of the Joe Pendleton Top 10 moments of 2006.
Angry? No. Wound up? No? Laughing at this situation? Of course.
As for Todd-A. If people being pissed off that they couldn't watch Broncos-Chiefs on Turkey Day did work to get the cable system to buckle, do you honestly thing Rutgers-Kansas State is gonna swing the tide.
As for who sold them the game. Mike Trangese was so desperate three years ago to get his sinking conference a third automatic bowl bid, he sold out to the Houston Bowl, who in turn sold out to the NFL Network.
I'm glad you guys are reading.
I do get the NFL Network at home, but was unable to watch last week's Steelers-Browns game (which was probably a blessing in disguise). Apparently, my cable provider refuses to pay the additional costs the network charges to air the games, so when I turned on the station last Thursday, it was a plain black screen with a message about their refusal to ante up.
Cat,
I agree with Todd A. that this is a mere publicity stunt for the aging senator.
But it will work, because it appeals to the same unbalanced people who vote to build stadiums with tax dollars for filthy rich owners of pro teams.
Every time a yahoo like Modell or Bowlen threatens to leave town unless the public coffers are opened to build them a palace from which they keep all the profits, the fan-voters of these teams panic and approve these ludicrous plans.
Perhaps if a fraction of that stadium money was redirected toward worthwhile redevelopment projects, there wouldn't be as many murderers and rapists in the towns you speak of.
Cat...got the holiday card in the mail.
Friggin' genius.
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