10.26.2005
The Fox File
Although I still love and appreciate baseball as much now as ever before, I can no longer bring myself to watch a full Fox baseball telecast. Life is simply too short. Depending on the exact circumstances of the moment in my apartment, if Fox is showing a game I often keep the television muted with music on instead. (Sometimes, in the cheekier moments, I will listen to Television.)
But if it's a big game -- say, the World Series for example -- then crunch time often demands the audio, if only because crowd noise is so integral to such an event. I watched the classic Steve Bartman game in 2003, saw the whole eighth inning develop right before my eyes, even immediately predicted to my friend Paul that the Cubs were doomed to blow the game, and the NLCS after that, now that this idiot fan has robbed Moises Alou of an easy out. And I was right! But I felt no personal connection to that experience, still don't, never really did, all because we were listening to Toots and the Maytals instead.
So when it's a big game, I pretty much have to tune in and pay at least cursory attention to the broadcast. Assuming I need pictures to go along with the audio, I have nowhere to turn but to Fox, and neither do you, and Fox knows it.
Fox's trangressions against fans of baseball are myriad and well-documented. If you are reading this then you're probably a baseball fan, and if you're a baseball fan then I don't have to list for you the ways Fox besmirches the sport with its vapid coverage, nor do I have to list the members of the commentariat -- certified or self-appointed -- who have called Fox out on it...but here's a primer. Call it the Fox File:
This is pretty comprehensive, not in terms of the sheer amount of criticism (impossible task, that) but in terms of the variety of complaints. While compiling the Fox File, I should note, I did run across the occasional mildly positive review of Fox's coverage, or at least certain aspects of their coverage, but a) not very often, and b) never any four-star, two-thumbs up, raving endorsements.
And yet Fox's contract with baseball rolls on. To paraphrase the immortal Bobby Knight, if it's inevitable we might as well relax and try to enjoy it.
But if it's a big game -- say, the World Series for example -- then crunch time often demands the audio, if only because crowd noise is so integral to such an event. I watched the classic Steve Bartman game in 2003, saw the whole eighth inning develop right before my eyes, even immediately predicted to my friend Paul that the Cubs were doomed to blow the game, and the NLCS after that, now that this idiot fan has robbed Moises Alou of an easy out. And I was right! But I felt no personal connection to that experience, still don't, never really did, all because we were listening to Toots and the Maytals instead.
So when it's a big game, I pretty much have to tune in and pay at least cursory attention to the broadcast. Assuming I need pictures to go along with the audio, I have nowhere to turn but to Fox, and neither do you, and Fox knows it.
Fox's trangressions against fans of baseball are myriad and well-documented. If you are reading this then you're probably a baseball fan, and if you're a baseball fan then I don't have to list for you the ways Fox besmirches the sport with its vapid coverage, nor do I have to list the members of the commentariat -- certified or self-appointed -- who have called Fox out on it...but here's a primer. Call it the Fox File:
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10
11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20
21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30
This is pretty comprehensive, not in terms of the sheer amount of criticism (impossible task, that) but in terms of the variety of complaints. While compiling the Fox File, I should note, I did run across the occasional mildly positive review of Fox's coverage, or at least certain aspects of their coverage, but a) not very often, and b) never any four-star, two-thumbs up, raving endorsements.
And yet Fox's contract with baseball rolls on. To paraphrase the immortal Bobby Knight, if it's inevitable we might as well relax and try to enjoy it.
