George and Jerry are pitching a show about nothing to NBC.....

RUSSELL: I got up and came to work.
GEORGE: There's a show. That's a show.
RUSSELL: (Confused) How is that a show?
JERRY: Well, uh, maybe something happens on the way to work.
GEORGE: No, no, no. Nothing happens.
JERRY: Well, something happens.
RUSSELL: Well, why am I watching it?
GEORGE: Because it's on TV. 

    At its best, television enjoys a symbiotic union with the viewing public. TV networks present options, the viewers pick the one's they like, networks put on more of that programming, etc. But somewhere along the line that relationship got skewed, and networks stopped listening to the viewers and started telling them what they should be watching.
    Exhibit A of this problem is the return of Brett Favre. At some point 10 years ago the sports media decided that Brett Favre was the coolest person in the history of sports. Maybe it's because he's a great sound bite, maybe they liked the cut of his Wranglers, maybe they really loved the Something About Mary cameo, whatever the reason Favre was anointed as The American Sports Figure. And what started out as a small crush grew slowly into stalker-style obsession.
    Like any love struck Romeo the media conveniently ignored Favre's horrible interceptions, his egocentric waffling over retirement, his me-first attitude when it comes to his teammates. And they did their best to convince all of us that we should love Favre as much as they do. They bombard us with constant Favre coverage, stuck a reporter on his lawn, did countless fluff pieces on his battle with pain killers, his wife, his father, anything to justify their love affair him.
    Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Favre doesn't deserve some coverage. He was a great player and there were fans everywhere who liked him. But he was never head and shoulders better than John Elway, or Steve Young, or Petyon Manning. If you came out of cave and saw ESPN showing live helicopter coverage of Favre's SUV driving through Minnesota, you would assume he was visiting dignitary or at least the best player in football. You certainly wouldn't think he's a 39 year-old quarterback who threw the most interceptions in the league last year and fell apart down the stretch.
    This misguided media coverage is a growing problem that goes well beyond just a sports. I refuse to believe that THAT many people really cared about John and Kate's relationship, or Ocotmom's life, or Britney Spear's weight, until the powers-that-be anointed them as "it" stories.
   So if we're not really interested why do we tune in? Why not read a book, go for a walk, or play with our dog? The problem is that we have our own misguided love affair with television. No matter how crappy the programming, how incessant the coverage, we'll continue to return to that flickering box that offers us escapism. And the media execs have figured that out. They know that sports fans watch whatever stories they pick out for us. Not because we like and not because we want it, but because it's on TV.