This Blog Sponsored by: 9/23/2007

As I watched the Bears today take a pounding at the hand of the Dallas Cowboys, I started to notice something about the NFL broadcasts… There are nearly as much advertisements as there are footbal minutes played.  It’s to the point where I don’t even want to watch it anymore.  Even when it’s not a commercial, the plays or camera shots themselves are “sponsored by” or “brought to you by” some company.  It might be a little more tolerable if the company “bringing you” the action had anyhting to do with what they were bringing you.  My favorite today was the “Blimp coverage brought to you by Gillette.”  All this time, I thought Gillette was about personal hygiene products, but it turns out they also provide blimp coverage for your events.  That’s a versitile company.

Even when the cameras were still running for the game, where they’d show a shot of the crowd or a part of the stadium, like the restaurant, the screen is covered by some company’s logo and Al Michaels is rattling off some BS about how this shot was brought to you by McDonalds or whoever was on the screen.  I personally respect that company less now for having lied to me.  McDonalds didn’t bring me that shot, NBC cameramen did.  I highly doubt McDonalds filmed that shot, or paid for the film, or even cared what shot it was.

I think sponsors should be barred form any in game promotion. If they need something to credit shots to, how about something helpful to society, or small, life affirming advice… such as:
“Blimp coverage brought to you by good health and responible parenting”
“Todays broadcast brought to you by cancer research”

or maybe negative sponsoring… such as:

“Blimp coverage was in no way brought to you by A.I.D.S.”
“Todays programming was not made possible by obiesity”
“Diabetes did not fund these programs, and is probably trying to rape your family”

I hear negative publicity works better than positive anyway.  Nobody is going to support something that rapes families… nor are they going to buy a product because it brought you some unseeable NFL blimp camera.