Sports And Politics Don’t Mix
By Dwight Baker (10/03/03)
I’m sure you’ve heard by now, but Rush Limbaugh is being chastised in the media for supposedly racist comments concerning the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.
Here’s what he actually said, since the media are implying he said something much worse.
"I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn't deserve. The defense carried this team."
A little shocking at first when the implication is that McNabb gets all the press he does because he’s black. Fact of the matter is, Rush is right. There’s nothing racist in what he said, though the liberal media wants you to think that. Most reports of this that I’ve seen don’t quote Rush directly, the writer simply summarizes what was says and, of course, it always gets interpreted much worse than it actually is.
The NFL brought this on themselves. The NFL’s been running around making a big deal of race when it comes to hiring head coaches. It levies fines on teams that don’t interview black coaches for their head coaching positions. What ever happened to hiring the best man for the job? I’m not going to get into that topic since it’s been debated ad nauseum. But the NFL goes out of its way to promote its black quarterbacks and black head coaches, though there are only three. Why? Because Johnny Cochran and Jesse Jackson are out there licking their chops, waiting to pounce. Period.
Let me reiterate: Rush was right. But he was wrong to say it. It wasn’t necessary to bring it up. If Rush had a problem with McNabb’s play, and who wouldn’t, he should have left it at that. But we all know why Rush was brought aboard ESPN: Ratings. Only four weeks into the season, ESPN’s NFL countdown show’s ratings are up 10 percent overall, and 26 percent among the 18-to-34 male demographic. Sunday's show drew its biggest audience in the regular season since November 1996, says ESPN’s Dave Nagle. He was brought on board for ratings for the same reason Dennis Miller was brought on Monday Night Football (MNF) a couple years back, and Jimmy Kimmel on Fox Sports last season. The sports media is trying to bring the “common fan” into the mix. Fine and dandy. But Rush probably won’t be back next season for the same reason Dennis Miller didn’t last on MNF. The REAL common fan just can’t relate and doesn’t take them seriously. They told Dennis to stick to comedy. Others will be telling Rush to stick to political commentary.
But talk radio was interesting this past Wednesday. I was a faithful Rush listener years back, but could only listen during lunch and just couldn’t keep up with the program during the limited time I could listen. So I switched to sports radio and found Jim Rome, the “Rush Limbaugh” of sports commentary. Jim Rome is as hard-hitting and controversial in the sports realm as Rush is in politics, though not nearly as accurate. Rome’s most famous moment is getting decked on live television by quarterback Jim Everett on his former ESPN talk show after repeatedly calling him “Chris” Everett, referring to the famous women’s tennis star, when Everett’s career was going down hill.
So it was interesting switching from Rush during the commercials to listen to Jim Rome’s contempt for Rush on another station. Before I switched over to hear what Rome and his “clones” were saying (Rome’s version of ditto-heads) I could predict what I was going to hear based on my knowledge of Rome’s politics. He’s a bleeding-heart liberal so I knew he’d be bashing Rush left and right, as did his listeners. Rome called Rush all the typical names: racist, bigot, blowhard, idiot, etc. Needless to say I didn’t stay long.
That’s when I remembered why I don’t listen to Jim Rome anymore. When I tune in to a sports show, I don’t expect to hear politics, especially from a liberal like Rome. Rome seems to talk way too much about homosexual issues and gender issues, such as the Augusta golf club/Martha Burk flap a while back. So I turned him and his childishness off and went back to being a faithful listener to Rush Limbaugh, ……..and added Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity to the mix. I’m even a Rush 24/7 subscriber to his website. Now I don’t listen to sports radio at except to catch a game.
I probably won’t pay much attention to Rush on ESPN anymore, though, for the same reason above. When I tune in to a TV sports show, I don’t expect or want to hear political commentary. When I want politics, I’ll choose politics. When I want sports, I’ll tune to the sports station. Jim Rome doesn’t know a thing about politics and Rush doesn’t know as much about sports as he pretends to on his radio show. He hasn’t been bad on ESPN. Actually he’s been quite good at times but sometimes I think he says something off the wall just to catch the other guys off guard or because he’s thinking on the fly and can’t come up with anything else. It’s early in the season so he still kind of has that deer-in-the-headlights look. Perhaps he’ll get better over time.
But I doubt I’ll be watching. Sorry, Rush.
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