Let Me Give Them Their Props

I've been critical of ESPN in the past.  My complaint has always been that their coverage is too star driven and has too many biases, which questions their ability to be fair and balanced.

But here's the bottom line: star driven content sells.  If it didn't, they wouldn't discuss it so much.

Scott and I have been working on this blog for just over three months.  The most discussed posts on our blog almost always have to do with Alex Rodriguez or Terrell Owens.  I may criticize ESPN for over-publicizing every move that each of these stars makes, or having clear biases towards east coast teams or sexy story lines.

Yet it's these topics that get sports fans to talk.  And that's all the network can ask for.

They cover sports.  That's their job, sure.  But their job is also to entertain.   Apparently, A-Rod, T.O., Kobe, and LeBron are the topics that sports fans want to hear about most.  It's easy for us as sports fans to blame ESPN or other media for spending too much time on these topics.  Yet the fact remains that when they talk about it, we talk about it.  Consequently, if we talk about it, we're going to watch more coverage of it, and media like ESPN continue to flourish.  

So let me give ESPN their props.  Do I get annoyed with wall-to-wall coverage of T.O.?  Yep.  As sports fans we all get sick of it at some point.  But the Worldwide Leader knows what it's doing when it comes to topics to cover.

When you start to get annoyed again that you're hearing too much about these superstar players, ask yourself whether you've been discussing the same things recently.  The answer is probably yes.  And that's why you're hearing about it so much on ESPN.