Someone finally said something.
For far too long, we've let ESPN wither on the vine. What used to be the beacon of sports journalism and innovation has descended into a muddy mess of loud morning show hosts and ads for Mike Greenberg's parlays. Long gone are the days of highlights, real sports analysis, and anything longer than 800 words.
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But since ESPN is too big to fail, we've all had to quietly go along with their treachery. That ends today. After years spent in the darkness, someone finally found the light. Someone finally stood up and said that enough is enough; someone finally stood up for the common man who just wants to watch 90 seconds of MAC highlights at 10:35 in the morning. But since our humble hero would never want the attention or praise that his actions so obviously deserve, we have to do our part and lift him up for all to appreciate.
So, essentially: Aaron Rodgers single-handedly saved sports media this week. At the very least, his scathing critiques shook the landscape enough to scare the suits in Bristol. With the help of his loyal friend Pat McAfee, the two thought leaders pointed the spotlight directly where it needs to be (and in good faith, no less!): at the grubbiest among us who would use ESPN's platform for their own personal gain.
Aaron Rodgers hates when people go on ESPN just to steal the spotlight and make headlines
“I’m talking about these experts on TV who nobody remembers what they did in their career," Rodgers said. "So, in order for them to stay relevant, they have to make comments that keep them in the conversation. That wasn’t going on in 2008, 2009. That was non-existant. The SportsCenter of my youth, those guys made highlights so much fun. And that’s what they showed on SportsCenter. Now it’s all talk shows and people whose opinions are so important now and they believe they’re the celebrities now, they’re the stars for just being able to talk about sports or give a take about sports, many of which are unfounded or asinine, as we all know. But that’s the environment we’re in now.”
Thank you Aaron. I too hate when people use an ESPN platform to fire off random takes that don't really have to do with anything besides the person's individual politics. There's nothing worse than turning on ESPN, the TV channel that does sports, only to hear about things that aren't sports. I'm glad we got to this point before things got really bleak. Can you imagine what would have happened if Rodgers hadn't spoken up? The type of content we'd be force fed? Imagine someone going on McAfee's show, for example, and advocating for potentially harmful pseudo-science. Or criticizing public health officials. There are a lot of bad actors out there just begging for the opportunity to own the libs on live television.
But Aaron Rodgers stepped up and put an end to this nonsense. He knows we're waging a war for the soul of ESPN, and he's courageously willing to stand up and be the best of us. We all owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude for his thoughtful, helpful insight. Maybe now SportsCenter will go back to doing what they do best: actually showing highlights of him pouting on the Jets' sideline.