(I Tivo'd the Monday Night Football game and it is currently half time. So, these impressions are based on the half time and don't include any of the pre-game festivities.)
I'm being driven crazy by the NFL and ESPN's attempt to portray New Orleans as a city that is once again shining. They keep talking about how happy everyone is that the team is back and how important the game is to the city. They keep talking about all the great things the NFL has done for New Orleans. It's a freaking stroke-fest! (More Inside)
It's as if the whole game and pomp are being orchestrated by the RNC, to make it look like the government has really done its part to respond to and bring back the city. They seem completely oblivious to the real conditions of the citizens of the city, still suffering and displaced throughout the country.
Thank goodness for the one sober moment during the Spike Lee interview. But ESPN clearly didn't want to hear it. Spike talked about the slow govern-mental response and the fact that after this four-hour game, the people will have to return to their FEMA trailers. But the commentators were clearly uncomfortable with this realist perspective and kept trying to keep Spike focused on the positive affect of the game.
And have I completely lost it or are you with me that the ESPN camera crew is searching the white-dominated crowd for African-Americans to put on the screen?
I tell you, corporate America controls and destroys football. I'm looking much more forward to the UEFA games tomorrow.