FAREWELL TO TELEVISED SPORTS: FED UP TO THE TEETH WITH THE COMMERCIALS

I'm adapting the title of a book written long ago by sportswriter Paul Gallico. He was moving on from sports to other kinds of writing and reporting and wrote a classic, Farewell to Sport. 
    As known, money derived from television commercials has revolutionized major sports. I've seen professional athletes putting a hand over camera lenses. That's called biting the hand that feeds you. Hey, big guy, your whopping salary didn't come from ticket sales or concessions. TV-ad revenue is your benefactor. Kiss the lens.
      
    Layer upon Layer.
    And the ads get longer, more frequent and more intrusive. When the action returns to the field or stadium, more ads are supered over a wide shot of the venue. And you are subjected to a painful, fidgety "Brought to you by" series. Didn't we just watch that? Then the announcer comes back on with his ad pitches, completing a trifecta of exasperation.
        
    Sport by Sport
    Televised baseball displays the least annoying ad show. Innings are uninterrupted, unless there is a pitching change. Unfortunately, these are becoming more frequent, especially after the fifth inning, as teams inject an ever-growing cadre of hard-throwing relievers.      With the two-line passing rule, NFL Hockey is free-flowing and a much more exciting game . Interruptions are less persistent, but only slightly so. 
     
    NBA Game Changer for the Worst
    When the three-point play was initialized in the 1979-1980 season, NBA basketball was transformed from a chess match with action highlighted by crisp passing and accompanied by picks, cuts and weaves. Proper blocking out often resulted in captured rebounds, followed by the start of a streaking fast break. It was beautiful to watch. Since then, the first guy to get the ball usually throws up a three-point heave. If the shot is missed, which happens 60% or more of the time, a rebounding scramble is followed by a foul, and a commercial. NBA basketball is a whistle-blowing nightmare. The three refs are in a game-halting competition The ad execs rub their hands in glee, as the endless stoppages allow a blizzard of ads.
   NOW TO THE MOST EGREGIOUS, the NFL, with its agonizing, becoming unbearable, ad saturation. Game-halting injuries, of which there are many, afford extra opportunities. You can imagine the network execs thinking: Let's hope this one requires a stretcher.
     
    Game on the Line? You'll Just Have to Wait.
    Lately, to hold the audience, ads break in at crucial times: A team is driving for a score late in the game, now it's fourth down on the one-yard line, the game is on the line. Will they opt for a field goal, a short pass, a plunge? Well, since we've gone to commercial, we'll just have to wait for the decision. Will it be a short commercial? Do I dare go to the bathroom, grab a beer, let the dog out, go tell my annoyed wife I love her more than football?
    Except for a crucial playoff game with my favorite team on the schedule, it's farewell to televised sports. I'll brush up on my reading. In fact, I'm off to re-read my own sports book, GUTS IN THE CLUTCH. Join me?

(See my books at:  http://amzn.to/19QmSVH