Monday, February 02, 2015

COMMENTARY: Olbermann Outs Himself With Super Bowl Admission

One final word, if I may, on the topic of our good friend Keith Olbermann.

The former ESPN SportsCenter anchor-turned late night political pundit offered valuable insight into what really makes him tick last week, announcing, “I don’t care about the Super Bowl.”

That assertion caught some viewers by surprise, since during his past lives as an ESPN SportsCenter anchor and commentator, he enthusiastically stoked the Super Bowl hype machine for more than three decades.

Apparently, however, Olbermann’s enthusiasm for the game stemmed from little more than an affinity for the almighty dollar.

“I have been paid to care about the last 34 Super Bowls,” admitted Olbermann last week. “This includes the one where I was paid to host the pregame show for NBC… the other one where I hosted the pre-pregame show for NBC and the other other one where I hosted the pre-pre-pregame show and the halftime online show for FOX.

“But now, after 34 of these, I’m out. Check please.”

Actually, Keith, that’s incorrect. Your checks were cashed long ago.

You lied to everyone – maybe even yourself – for decades, feigning enthusiasm for the sake of cold, hard cash. But now that you’ve burned your bridges with NBC, FOX and the NFL, you are free to admit what many of us suspected all along; that your opinions are – and have always been – for sale to the highest bidder.

Like Colin Cowherd, Skip Bayless and other members of the “look at me” media, you care nothing for integrity and fairness, instead spouting any view controversial enough to keep you in the spotlight and get you paid for a little while longer. Worse, even after making such a shameful admission, you expect us to believe that your views are somehow genuine today, and that you are suddenly not the “bought and paid for” Olbermann we have come to know and detest for so long.

For the record, Keith, we are not fooled.

In a shortsighted attempt to cling to relevance for just a little while longer, you have succeeded only in outing yourself. You have allowed us to see you for what you really are, and what you have always been; an angry, insecure little man who’ll say anything he is paid to say, whether he believes it or not.
 
In a perfect world, you would already have weighed-in on the late-game brawl that saw Seattle’s Bruce Irvin assessed a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct and ejected from last night’s Super Bowl. When the teams of Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski engaged in a similar dust-up following the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway last fall, you were quick to trot out your usual “redneck” adjectives in defense of your longtime assertion that NASCAR is not a “real sport.”

Perhaps you really weren’t watching last night, just like you weren't watching the NASCAR race last fall. Or perhaps you hold NASCAR to a higher standard than other sports, failing to understand that in the heat of the moment, professional athletes of all kinds sometimes fall victim to their own heightened emotions.

I’m sure you will speak on this topic eventually, saying whatever is necessary to make you the center of attention, once again. Unfortunately, given Olbermann’s anemic ratings and dead-end time slot, not many people will be listening when you do.

25 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:20 PM

    He and Michael Moore should rent an apartment together somewhere far, far away from here.

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  2. Amen Mr. Moody. I'm not surprised in the least bit...

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  3. And with that straight to the heart of the matter diatribe hopefully Oblaherman's name will never again take up space in your column or our brains. Thanks for taking out the trash Mr Moody.

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  4. Geosez2:21 PM

    What a terribly unhappy man. He needs a mommy.

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  5. Feel the burn......

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  6. Anonymous8:18 PM

    Media Prostitute

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  7. Anonymous10:35 PM

    Why is this even worth your time?

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    Replies
    1. I'm a pretty good judge of what is worth my time. How about you just let me handle it?

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    2. If it's not worth your time, don't read it.

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    3. Anonymous4:44 PM

      When you get blasted by by the other sports media you going to say ok, my turn in the barrel? I am surprised you've lowered yourself to this. Petty is a better word.

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    4. I don't get blasted by other sports media, mainly because my statements and comments are supportable by facts. This is my blog, and I'm going to comment on anything that suits my fancy. 99.99% of my readers understand and appreciate that, and those that don't are under no obligation to come here. That includes you, "Anonymous."

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  8. Anonymous2:58 AM

    He is not worth writing about Dave. Surprised you decide to insult and ridicule a talking head in the media. Espn is not the espn I grew up on anyhow and like most cable news stations they are agenda driven, hard to get the old tag line from dragnet "..Just the facts..."

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  9. The world, and sports - all sports, is full of paid cheerleaders. Nothing new or interesting in that. They're easily identified by their "my sport can do no wrong" mantra.
    And racing is far from immune.

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  10. Anonymous11:31 AM

    So how about Roger Penske saying that if Ryan Blaney wins the Daytona 500 he'll make sure he gets a full-time ride for the rest of this season? I thought that was pretty cool.

    And I'm sorry, Dave... but what car does this dummy Olbermann drive?

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  11. More pot calling the kettle black talk...? You almost sound jealous that he's getting so much attention... You should just stick to what nascar tells you to say....

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    1. I'm a shill, and yet you come here every day to read what I have to say. LOL, thanks "Scott."

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    2. Well... To be honest... Not everyday... I also listen to the sirius nascar channel to hear the outlandish stuff on there... Though I agreed with your comments about the Keselowski Vs.Gordon deal... It's hard for me to believe that everything is great in the nascar world like I hear and see from the nascar owned press....

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  12. Moody. Your comebacks are great. Once upon a time, I aspired (and graduated with a degree) to be a journalist. Olbermann, unfortunately, is a tool. I remember growing up with him on Sportscenter and really enjoying the antics between himself and Dan Patrick. However, some of the above comments have points--"full of talking heads," etc. Whatever happened to Andy Petree? Was he "too country" for TV? If you understand that, you get my drift. However, I am glad that NASCAR has someone defending them in a world of carbon-copy football lovers/frat boys/sorority girls/IPhone owners. I truly believe that Nascar would have NEVER lost it's popularity if B. France Jr. would not have tinkered with it...would Nascar have competed with football for popularity on TV? No. It would have continued to grow, though.

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    Replies
    1. Andy Petree is now on FOX Sports' NASCAR telecasts as a rules analyst, much like Mike Pereira is their rules analyst for their NFL telecasts (Mike Carey does the same for CBS).

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  13. Anonymous8:59 PM

    Right on the screws Dave !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  14. Anonymous2:27 AM

    KEITH WHO? WELL,BILL WEBER WOULD BE PROUD.

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  15. Olbermann further outed himself by slamming Penn State students on his Twitter account for trying to raise money to combat pediatric cancer - and was promptly suspended by ESPN for it.

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  16. I've never seen a journalist who is his own worst enemy more than this guy is. He would literally hang himself right as you're offering him the keys to the kingdom.

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