February 10, 2023
Will you be watching the Super Bowl …. I will probably have it on but its not Must See TV any more for me. I can’t name more than 3-4 players total on the field.
In his State of The NFL remarks this week in Phoenix, Roger Goodell made it very clear that I – and many of you – are no longer in his target demographics. If we want to be NFL fans … watch their games … buy their merchandise … etc we are welcome to do so; but they will no longer include “people like us” in their marketing strategy.
I appreciate Roger’s honesty. It’s been apparent for more than several years. It’s more than “Kaepernick vs Patriotism” but certainly that is on the list.
When 80% of your entertainment product are black men in their 20s … with that % increasing each year … that strong majority will naturally impose their “culture” on the product. As a white baby boomer, that culture is foreign to me … and I’m not inclined to develop an appreciation for it.
No Harm – No Foul … I do not feel “disrespected” at all. Roger Goodell needs to keep “his product” happy more than he needs “us” happy.
Whatever … Come Monday morning THE #1 social media topic will NOT be The Game but The Ads and The OMG Halftime Show. Complaining about the OMG Halftime Show has become “a tradition like no other”.
This year it is Rihanna who, I understand, is like “a black Taylor Swift”. I can’t name any song by either Rihanna or Taylor Swift … or much of anyone except the Statler Brothers or The Righteous Brothers neither of whom have ever been on any Super Bowl Halftime short list.
Any social media post that mentions Up With People … Kathie Lee Gifford … The New Christy Minstrels or Kate Smith singing God Bless America will be censored.
Yes, there will likely be “a black national anthem” and some BLM references so don’t be shocked. Remember it’s “black culture for a black audience”. The majority of ads – if not every ad – will feature … well, you know … so don’t watch if that is going to upset you. Life’s too short.
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Speaking of Music …
Music is my least favorite Jeopardy Category. I kid about how little I know or have followed “music” my whole life. Then I read Burt Bacharach’s obituary and by golly – I’m familiar with pretty much every song he wrote. Go figure.
I’ve been blessed for the past 20+ years to sit down at a blank screen and fill it with 800 or so words that, for the most part, don’t suck. BUT to sit down at a piano …
… and somewhere between your head and your fingers emerges “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” or “Alfie” or “Theme From Arthur” … and this world is a better place for creating those …… WOW! Very cool!
He was 94. I picture him sitting at his favorite piano the past 10-15 years plinking thru his Greatest Hits saying “I wrote that? Damn, I was good!” Yes you were Mr Bacharach.
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Meanwhile Over Yonder In “The Lower Level” of Dean’s Dome …
I doubt he would ever admit it; but in your first year as a Head Coach to be 20 minutes away from a National Championship set Yea Olde Bar pretty damn high for Hubert Davis’ Act 2. Too high for Hubert or for anyone else.
And to have that happen to a fan base that fully EXPECTS to be “there” every year … like it’s their freakin’ birthright or some such nonsense.
There hasn’t been this much PURE PANIC in Chapel Hill since SCOTUS repealed Roe v Wade. Easy Abortions and Carolina Basketball are very sacred subjects in The Southern Part of Heaven!
One grumpy old grad out at Carolina Meadows mumbled something about “Silent Sam’s Revenge” … Huumm, could it be?!?
The March Miracle really wasn’t necessary for Franklin Street to embrace Hubert Davis as “our next Hall of Fame Coach”. Pissing in Coach K’s Good By punchbowl after an otherwise mediocre season was probably enough for Year One … but nooooo … Hubert had to go all the way to Halftime vs Kansas before Reality hit.
To make it worse … thanks to Really Big Ram Greensboro’s Dwight Stone and his Deep Pocket NIL pals … almost the entire team – except “the white guy with the beard” – shocks everyone and comes back to “finish the job” … Yee HAA Hark The Sound!
The Lower Level Gang … 3rd and 4th generations of Friends of Skippa Bowles … as well as every Wal-Mart Tar Heel and goggle-eyed, spittle-spewing board monkey have booked reservations for Houston and cleared space “in the rafters” for another banner FOR SURE. … Pre-Season #1 By Golly …
Well, as everyone reading this knows … it’s been a train wreck of a season and it ain’t over yet.
When you hear a winsome Carolina coed ask “What’s an NIT?” you know it’s a freakin’ nightmare over yonder.
NIT and NIL Big Bucks don’t go together at all.
I’ve been around successful basketball since I was 10 years old … except for three years at Univ of Missouri in the early 70s and, of course, The Doherty Disaster. But I still have no clue what “a ball screen” is; nor do I care.
I may be the only living alumnus of UNCCH who does not “Know What’s Wrong & How To Fix It”. I figure Hubert has a couple of more years to figure it out before “my buddy” Art Chansky reminds everyone that “they once hung Dean Smith in effigy … and he turned out all right.” Based on his recent commentaries on WCHL, Artie is not exactly Hubert’s biggest fan these days.
Can we still say “hung in effigy” if a black man is any part of the conversation? Probably not. Matt Doherty (not Daugherty) was never “hung in effigy” for what thats worth.
For anyone wondering … Wes Miller is 16-9 at Cincinnati this year versus Hubert’s 15-9. Miller is 34-24 in Year Two versus Hubert’s 44-18. Hubert has been to one more NCAA Tournament than Miller has.
I have no clue where Larry “Suitcase” Brown is or George Karl … but I bet some goggle-eyed Franklin Street nitwit has their cell #s if Bubba needs them. He doesn’t, but good to know.
Kevin WhatsHisName at NCState is off the “hot seat”. If he beats UNC at the PNC, Amedeo’s will probably name a sandwich after him. … Jon Scheyer (no “r”) has certainly not made anyone forget how to spell “Krzyzewski” in West Derm. … I have no clue who is coaching Wake Forest but its NOT “Bones” – “Skip” or “Dino”.
You’ll know it’s SCARY BAD in “The Lower Level” if you hear anyone ask “When does Spring Football practice start?” Trust me: THAT has never been uttered in UNC’s Lower Level.
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Did You Know that … ESPN Hates PURDUE ?? Huh!
Apparently Purdue has a very good team this year and ranked #1 every other week or so. I have a friend who is a very smart man … and a Purdue alum / life long fan. He even knows where Rick Mount went to high school.
Guess what? My smart friend is convinced that ESPN Hates Purdue because …. He’s not sure Why but he’s sure that they do. When he said that, I lit into him …
“John (his name is John) if I EVER hear you say that again, I will hunt you down and brand “I’m a Boilermaker Board Monkey” across your forehead.”
“But, BobLee, I know they hate us because they don’t talk about us for 20 minutes every morning on their talk shows.”
“John, I’m heating up the branding iron …”
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Remember my friends … you DO NOT have to watch The Super Bowl or The Halftime Show. Nothing about either will be on the final exam.
Check BobLee on Facebook … if you’re interested.
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More of BobLee’s Rimshots HERE
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