I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts

Michael Cox

Okay, okay, we've been whingeing on about how dead crappy Fox's playoff coverage has been, and how Tim McCarver's very existence is surely one of the seven signs of the Apocalypse. The overnight ratings, some of the lowest in history, tell us that much of America agrees, although Fox will blame it on anything but their production. When you get numbers that low with the Yankees in the Series, however, you might want to take a long hard look at your coverage.

Well, I've decided to put on a happy face (pulling several muscles in the process) and think real hard (doing it again) about what I like about the World Series and its coverage:

- First and foremost, the two teams. As much as I dislike the concept of the Yankees (rooting for them, as a friend of mine noted, is kinda like rooting for IBM), this has got to be the most un-Yankee-like Yankee team of Steinbrenner's reign. Unfortunately, Da Boss is re-finding his limelight and will surely muck it up soon.

The Padres remind me of the 1995 Mariners in many respects, not least of which is their fans' unabashed joy at being in the playoffs. It's just a shame that they're so battered and bruised (not to mention just plain ill), because it would have made for a much more interesting series.

- The isolation and closeup views. Even though McCarver uses them to mention things that aren't really relevant, they're one up on the idiotic "FoxScope" that Rupe's cable net uses ("Look right here..." (doot-doot-doot-doot) "his left knee is slightly wider than his right"). It's just nice to get closeups of people actually doing something, rather than the traditional TV "reaction shots" (or more often, "blowing bubbles in the dugout shots").

I'm even warming up to the Catcher-Cam, as long as I don't have to see any more screen-filling views of Chuck Knoblauch's ass.

- In fact, I would venture to say that with the audio muted, the Fox coverage isn't half bad. The multiple, unusual angles and their director's sense of anticipating the play make it fun to watch.

Unfortunately, as I'm often multitasking during the game, I count on the audio to tell me when something important is happening. Radio coverage in Seattle is not reliable -- college football bumped it right off the dial here, in fact -- and until RealAudio no longer lags behind the real-time TV coverage, it's not an option either. So yes, I do have to listen to McCarver.

- Those Jack In The Box ads are sorta fun. I even liked the Mazda ads until repetition set in. It took me about six views before I realized the ditty in the commercial was "88 Lines About 44 Women" by the Nails, only with the music cleaned up and no lyrics about self-gratification or "Catholic misery."

If only the ad men knew that backslashes don't go in "cyberspace"...

 

about the author

Michael Cox is smarter than Tim McCarver. So are you. Compare Mensa memberships at mc@strikethree.com.