This made the news rounds late last week, but we of course should mention this as part of our ongoing effort to balance the media fellating of Notre Dame with our own special brand of hate.
Notre Dame and NBC have agreed to remain in the sack together through 2015. This is a nice committment by NBC to their loving spouse, Notre Dame. No matter how old, fat and out-of-shape your spouse gets, you're supposed to love them no matter what... and remain devoted to them. And that's what NBC is doing, through thick and thin.
On the television programming side of life, though, it's yet another awful decision by a network that just cannot figure out how to succeed. Ten years after Seinfeld went off the air, the network continues to go in the wrong direction. Sunday Night Football has helped, The Office kind of fell into their laps, and they of course have the Olympics. But it just seems that more and more, NBC makes poor programming decisions and is often bringing up the rear in the ratings. What would possess them to show Notre Dame games? Last year brought the lowest ratings ever. I don't understand... has Fat Charlie convinced them to stick around with his recruiting prowess and flashing of his Super Bowl rings won as a coordinator?
Or maybe NBC figures it can't lose with a polarizing program like ND. Maybe they figure that because of the "either you love them or hate them" nature, it doesn't matter how they're doing -- if they go 3-9 again, people like us are going to love it.
Still, though, it just doesn't seem right. How come ND can rake in the millions of dollars you know their TV deal is worth? Mitch Albom on the Sports Reporters yesterday suggested that maybe USC should leave the Pac-10 and sign such a deal. It's a fair point.
Or maybe NBC execs just know as much about football as Cindy in Accounts Payable. From the article linked above:
"When Notre Dame is good, and they’re often quite good, they bring more attention to football than anyone else," Ken Schanzer, the president of NBC Sports, said by telephone.
Really? When were they last "quite good"? 1988? Two decades ago?
Schanzer has a son and a daughter at Notre Dame. The eldest son of Dick Ebersol, the chairman of NBC Sports, is a graduate.
Good gracious. Is this deal just so Schanzer and Ebersol can watch games more easily?
“We like them to be great,” Schanzer said. “It’s better when they’re great, but when they’re good, they maintain a high level of interest.”
It's truly amazing how the "Notre Dame is synonymous with greatness" kool-aid seeps into absolutely anyone associated with the school in any way. "It's better when they're great"?? Seriously? When are they ever great? Like I said, it's been many, MANY years since ND was actually relevant. And a true contender (and don't give me Ty's 8-0 start because they were shown to be a paper tiger that year, like so many others)... well, it's been, like I said, two decades.