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NBC Gave Me the Finger
Ever have one of those nights when you are sitting in front of the computer and do not know how to put what you want to write about to words? It is even more difficult when you have two great blogs going and just still are not comfortable posting them. Looking at them, the one about the Olympics is more pressing… even though I have blogged about the Olympics for almost a week now.
What I do not understand is why I am unable to watch them. For those of you who follow my twitter feed you see my frustration during the week. I missed a multitude of exciting events from basketball games to soccer/football games and I bet there was a great water polo game in there somewhere. NBC has told me that I am unable to watch them because I do not have a cable subscription that includes MSNBC and CNBC. Well I do not have a cable subscription at all and for the first time since making the decision to no longer have cable, I feel left out. That is why I am frustrated. These are the Olympic games, the worlds games! Why am I unable to stream it?
NBC totally missed the mark on this. There is a whole movement out there of people who are cutting the cord and going to a streaming only household. What NBC probably has forgotten (but according to ratings have not) is that many of us still tune in to their over-the-air signal, because we are just that interested in the games. NBC claims that they do not broadcast events live on their main channel because it hurts the prime-time ratings. Well to be honest many of the people who want to stream the events, whether they have cable or not, stream events that NBC neglects to show on their main channel. Those of us who are streaming the events are watching the events that NBC does not show during Prime-Time but then will still tune in and watch their horribly edited prime-time coverage.
Here is my solution to this dilemma, NBC could charge for non-cable subscribers say a fee of $29.95 for unlimited streaming of the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Many of us who have gone to a streaming-only household know that there will be times that we have to pay to watch things that are normally on cable, lets call it an occasional convenience fee. CBS did that during NCAA March Madness. One could pay $5, whether you have cable or not, to watch all the games during the tournament. I gladly paid that fee as I am sure so did everyone who is into the tournament. ESPN has WatchESPN which allows anyone with internet/cable service through certain providers to watch the games that they produce. NBC counters the fee idea with saying that ad revenue would be drastically down if they went this route. So again charge the fee and still put on ads. You still making the money either way. In fact, you are probably making even more money because you are getting people to pay for the service even if it is only a few hundred thousand and charging for the ads.
I do not like being stiffed, and now I feel like NBC has given me the finger to watching any of the Olympic events. Am I boycotting NBC because of it, no because I am just that type of sports enthusiast who wants to watch a great competition, but let’s make it fair for all viewers.
Unknown Olympic Event
“I’m Bob Costas and thank you for tuning into NBC’s coverage on the 2012 London Summer Games. We do not show you each and every event from the Olympics which many of you complain about, but tonight we thought we would take you to an event that is not shown on TV… or up until this point… Al Michaels take it away!”
“Hi everybody and welcome back to North Greenwich Arena here in London, the site of Gabby Douglas winning the Individual All-Around just a few nights ago. Tonight, however, it is a different event. One that not many think of as an Olympic sport. It is a sport in which an American is favored to win the gold. A sport which requires you to be a certain height and age and lots of flexibility. Crib Jumping!!”
“Never in my 35 years of broadcasting did I ever imagine that this sport would actually be in the Olympics, but it is here. The arena is full as the competition set between Great Britain’s Sir Poops Alot and Senior Cranky Pants from Mexico and the newly “Kid” from the USA. Elfi Schlegel joins me here in the booth and Elfi what are your thoughts on tonight’s competition?”
“Al, well this competition is going to be fierce. The Kid has been training for this one event his whole life and only made one appearance before this! But Sir Poops Alot and Cranky Pants have competed at the international level since the Beijing Olympics 4 years ago. It is going to be interesting how the Kid deals with all of this pressure.”
“Thank you, Elfi. First, Sir Poops Alot is up and lets watch him…”
“Well Al, my first thoughts on this are I am not sure how the judges will react to the human spine next to the crib but also it takes Poops Alot a ton of time to even make it out of the crib… depending on how the Kid and Cranky Pants react I do not think this will win the Gold?”
“Elfi thanks and you are right that human spine next to the crib is kind of strange… the judges score is coming down… and Poops Alot gets a 6! Which will probably put him at least getting a silver because next up is the international champion Senior Cranky Pants, who took the gold in Bejing.”
“WOW! Well first off Al, Senior Cranky Pants is really cranky during this run. I am sure the judges will not approve much of that… but it also takes Cranky a while to get out of the crib.”
“Elfi, I do not know but there might be a disqualification for the first time in Crib Escaping… it appears as if the judges are converging which is never a good sign… watching the replay we can clearly see that Cranky Pants is clearly upset during this entire run! The judges have made their decision and it is disqualification because of unsportsman like conduct! WOW!”
“Al, you just can not pull this stuff in the Olympics! But what a major break for the Kid! Who now has an excellent chance of winning the gold!”
“It comes down to this! How will the Kid respond, lets just watch and see!”
“DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!”
“Al, that was a major jump by the Kid right there! I can not believe it! The Kid made his first competitive appearance tonight and the pressure did not phase him at all! His form, the dismount! Everything just went right for the Kid! If the judges do not give him atleast 8′s I will be surprised!”
“Well lets see what the judges give him… he gets a 9.5!!!! The Kid wins the Gold in Crib Escaping! Who would have thought! Let us take it down the floor to see what the Kid has to say!”
“Kid, you just won the gold in an event that you just performed one time before this, what do you have to say for yourself?”
“Mommy! Daddy!”
“WOW simply WOW! That is all I can say, Will we see you in Rio in four years?”
“YEAH!”
“Congratulations Kid!”
“I can not believe it! I almost can not contain myself! Bob we are going to have to take it back to you before I start jumping around the booth with all of this excitement!”
“Thank you Al and be sure to contain yourself there! We want to see you calling hockey games for us in 2 years. Simply Amazing! Who would have thought that the Kid could have earned a gold tonight! But luck went his way and that is all you need here in the Olympics.”
Fish!
Dear Kid,
You have grown up so fast. There are things that you do that surprise both mommy and daddy . You also do things that make mommy and daddy laugh.
You fart! Ok, that may not sound funny, but it is the way you fart. After you let one rip, you blame it on someone else. Do you want to know who you blame? Your dad. In fact, it does not even matter who farted, it could have been the spider on the other side of the room and you still blame it on me. I do not know where you learned to this or who taught you this invaluable skill. It is not like your dad blamed you when he farted or anything. Really though, do you always have to blame it on me?
Speaking of things that escape from other side, I do not think that this new Catholic Day-Care will approve of you saying “Fish” I realize now that most Catholic people would not be offended by the word fish in fact, they probably would embrace it. But, you say fish so differently…
I will have you know that mommy and daddy did not teach you to say that word. We know what you mean but some people might not approve of it.
© The Rookie Dad
You are only 21 months old and already learning how to drive. I know that the family who live out on the farm could really use the help, but it seems that you might do more coaching from the car than real work. You are already so independent, always wanting to do things on your own, but driving is a skill that you do not need to master for a couple of years… at least.
Part of me wants to keep you this age. You are so much fun to run around with. You have so much energy, there are times when I come home from work that I am unable to find the energy in my self to keep up with you.
It is all worth it though. Each and every part of being your dad is worth it, the highs and lows. You might not know the meaning of what I wrote yesterday, but I Will Be There. Each and every step of the way. Whether you want to be a garbage picker upper or President of the United States of America, or swim in the Olympics, I will be there for you. I will always encourage you to be the best at what you want to be.
Love,
Daddy
I Will Be There
After yesterday’s rant on Proctor and Gamble and Kellogg’s, I was thinking about my son and my involvement in his life. I do not care what paths my son chose in life, well to a certain extent. If he chooses to play the harp, I will be there. If he chooses to play baseball, I will be there. If he chooses to be a chimney sweep, I will make him take a shower, but I will be there.
I know that I am not the only dad who feels this way. Most involved fathers, feel like we are fighting an up-hill battle to earn and get respect with advertisers, media, and the general public. You look at one of the latest shows that will be coming out in the fall that NBC is promoting like crazy during the Olympics, Guys with Kids. This show atleast from the promo’s, show dads acting like a fool and a complete idiot. Will I watch, yes, only to give my formal opinion of it after a few episodes to see how frustrated I really am at the show. Shows like this are part of the problem. So many people look at TV and think it is reality, that is far from the truth.
It may be funny to poke fun at dads, but the times are changing. Dads are more involved then ever. I can not count how many times I have had someone look strangely at me or make a comment when I walk out of the family restroom after changing a diaper. I mostly get the “Awww ain’t that cute, dad changed your diaper.” Or when I am out alone with the Kid anywhere (before I took this new job and spent most of my days with the Kid), “aww did daddy take the day off to spend with you?” My response, “I’m a stay at home dad” and generally whomever made the rude comment backed off. What makes it so hard to realize that dads are being involved now?
We are not asking for the world, just a little respect. We know what we are doing and we love to spend time with our kids.
No matter the path my child chooses, I will be there!
© The Rookie Dad
An Olympic Miss
Every two years there is an event that I tune in and watch, the Olympics. I want to know everything that is going on and who is winning every medal and every story line. While this year, I have been unable to keep abreast of everything Olympics due to a dumb rule set in place by NBC saying that only the people with a cable package with MSNBC and CNBC can stream internet Olympic content, that is not the “miss” that I am talking about. I am sure that many of you have seen this commercial during the 2012 London Olympics…
Awesome! Way to go P&G! Support Moms! I am all about the support of moms because quite frankly they have the toughest job in parenting. I was not offended in the beginning, as I had an understanding that moms were their target audience in the ad. They hit their mark, Hot Mama cried when she saw it. But then I saw this…
Who is helping the swimmer? A Mom!
Where are the dads in these ads? Dads are not even shown in the ads at all, not even a glimpse! It is almost like they are non-existent. I am sure that there is some dad somewhere that has taken their future Olympian to practice, or let alone coached their child in their early years. So why leave dads out? Does Proctor and Gamble believe that dads are still the person who comes home from work and sits in his easy chair, drinks a beer, and does not play with their children? I once heard this, “Bob Dylan once wrote, The times, they are a-changin.” Maybe Proctor and Gamble or Kellogg’s have never heard that song.
I am not saying that moms should have been left out. But what P&G could have done is said “Proud Supporter of Parents” and you do not leave out the other crucial component to any mom, a strong and support dad. Parenting involves two people a mom and a dad. Without one the other can not function to its full potential.
To give credit where it is due, I will give NBC a thumbs up for showing families of Olympians and showing the dads. Maybe they do not have a choice as most of the dads and moms are sitting together during the events. But it is the one thing I will give NBC credit for during these Olympic games… the only thing.
