Lineup lament
Well, it's official now. It's policy. FoxTV will not, repeat not, be bringing you starting lineups at the beginning of their games. The decision was made by David Hill, Chairman of Fox Sports. I placed a quick call. Did he realize the effect this was having on my charts, that often I have to run the tape back many times to see who had started the game, that sometimes I even had to obtain a play-by-play, postgame, to find out who had been on the field at the beginning of things? I don't think it made an impression.
"Look, we're now living in a different world," he said. "People look forward to a certain game all week. There's excitement at the beginning, a tingle. They don't want the action slowed down by a bunch of stupid names and faces across the screen."
But those names and faces tell me who's on the field.
"To me those lineups are antediluvian. I am sick and tired of seeing them at the beginning of the action."
Antediluvian. "Of and relating to a period before the Deluge, hence antiquated," according to my old Webster. Or, to use the word as a noun, "one who is very old or behind the times, an 'old fogy.'"
That's me. An old fogy. Just as I was at the start of Fox's presentation of Tampa at Indianapolis, because I wanted to know about a Colts' lineup containing many positions in doubt. Marvin Harrison, in or out at wide receiver? Plus his back-up, Aaron Moorhead, plus the close-in tight end, Ben Utecht. Ditto prime runner Joseph Addai. And key defenders (they defend keys) LB Freddy Keiaho and SS Bob Sanders. Now there's a network superstar ... Sanders, plugged unmercifully. How about telling us whether or not he's in or out of the game?
I tried telling that to David Hill, but I could tell I was losing ground when I got around to names such as Utecht and Keiaho. For years network people have been telling me that only wackos and purists, for which I qualify on both counts, care about people such as that. There are storylines to set up, keys to the game, stars to plug, plus other thrilling events.
"You want to know who's in or out?" Hill said. "The announcers will give you that in their stand-up. I don't want the screen cluttered up with that."
But the announcers did not give me that. Yes they did, he said. No they didn't, I said. Yes they did. And the argument raged. When our conversation was over I called Fox's PR department and asked them if they could send me a tape, so I could see for myself (I hadn't saved my tape of the pre-game). They said they would. Coming right up. They never sent it. You just can't win, folks. When you're dealing with corporate America, you just can't win.
