So it’s Tuesday night, a night renowned for being a broadcast TV wasteland (until, at least, the Amazing Race comes back. That is, if it was to stay on Tuesday) and I always started to flip over to ESPN. Now, Tuesday isn’t much for sports either, so they filled it in with their own special programming. ESPN Original Entertainment, if you will.
They’ve done an excellent job in some respects, with the World Series of Poker, which fostered a revolution in the country. Everyone plays poker now. And much like all the things on ESPN, there are millions of people who could do the same job as those seen on screen (I’m looking at you, Salisbury). But then, we sit there affixed to the screen watching people stupid enough to throw ten grand at this tournament. And we think, “Why couldn’t that be me?”
Well, it’s because we aren’t dumb enough to blow that money, or we’re not as good as we thought and couldn’t win the entry fee. Either way, here we sit on Tuesday night watching Daniel Negreanu chat up an insurance salesman from Reno. It hardly seems fair.
So ESPN was off and running, trying to find something else to add onTuesday to fill in between their ESPN Mobile ads. They tried some movies which I’ve heard are good but I can’t watch for more than five minutes of. They had a really bad idea with the World Series of Darts. Then after it was cancelled on NBC, ESPN added a winner.
The Contender, produced by, of all people, Sylvester Stallone, has piqued my interest in another sport I wouldn’t otherwise care about. Yesterday, I found myself watching hours of a show about boxing. I’m eagerly awaiting tonight’s episode. What’s so darn fascinating about this show?
Well, for one thing, it’s absolutely fascinating to hear about the characters found in this show, the backgrounds, the family life. It’s amazing, listening to what these guys have been through and where they are now. Unintentional comedy is the lisp all these guys talk with, due to the head trauma. You try not to laugh, but you can’t stop yourself. But I feel bad, because these are genuinely interesting, dynamic personalities.
I think that’s what has drawn me into the Contender. The peronality and the classiness of the guys on the show. They aren’t the animals I would have expected a boxer to be. Of course, it is stil fun to see these nice guys let loose and beat the crap out of each other. – Ryan
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