While watching the NFL games on Sundays, note how many times crowd shots focus on families other than those who resemble the Addams or Manson families.
Do they show a father seated with his kids enjoying their time together as well-comported fans, a family sharing popcorn and sipping soft drinks, those more likely to be in a Norman Rockwell print than to be arrested for drunk and disorderly? It’s likely that in 10 hours of watching you won’t see even one such crowd shot.
Yet you’ll see more than 50 shots of adult men and women selected for TV attention — rewarded — because they appear dressed and well-oiled for such attention, something akin to Beer Pong with “The Price Is Right” contestants
That would mean that those who would dare escort well-behaved loved ones to NFL games are intentionally ignored or are no longer welcomed, thus no longer attend.
I used to attend Giants games at Yankee Stadium with my father. The few loud-mouthed vulgar drunks in our midst would be shouted down and even threatened by the sober, often with various antiquated shouts such as, “Hey, Pal! I’ve got my wife and kids here! Can it!”
No one had to call an usher or security. It was handled by peer pressure.
Now, the civilized at NFL games, at least according to what TV directors prize, appear to be short of such peers. They seem vastly outnumbered, surrounded by those who are two shots short of puking on the guy in front of them.
A close friend waited years — prior to Roger Goodell’s “good investment” PSLs — to buy Jets season tickets. He was thrilled when his time came. But with his wife and young son surrounded by drunks, he lasted less than one season.
It strikes me that every time TV chooses to delightfully focus on the biggest fools in the stands — “These fun fans are what it’s all about!” — that those in the broadcast truck responsible for these shots, 15 or 20 times per telecast, should have their loved ones sit among them, to really soak up the “NFL Experience.”
Like this:
Like Loading...
Follow
