From the sidelines
For anyone who didn't see the intro to Monday Night Football's game Nov. 12 between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, it went something like this: Woman in towel tries to talk Eagle wideout Terrell Owens, already in full uniform, into skipping the game and leaving with her. He says no, but he can be late. She drops the towel and jumps on him.
If you are asking yourself why this happened, you are not alone. It was obviously a low-standard attempt to boost ratings for the already popular ABC show, "Desperate Housewives." The woman in the sketch was an actress from the show, Nicollette Sheridan.
Freelance writer Jon Warech wrote in an article for ESPN.com how he could not believe the bare back of a woman on television could upset conservative America so much.
How ignorant does that sound? Does anyone believe the sketch was just about a woman's bare back?
It was about sex on television at 6 p.m. on the west coast. It was about playing to the stereotype of athletes as sex maniacs. And I agree with Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy when he said the sketch played to African-American stereotypes as well. Owens is black and Sheridan is white.
"I don't think that they would have had Bill Parcells or Andy Reid or one of the owners involved in that," Dungy said of the two white coaches.
Dungy is right on the money with his comments. I don't believe ABC execs would have had a white athlete or coach in the sketch. However, I think it is more than a racist issue. There was just no need for it to be on before a football game.
MNF has always marketed itself as a family show. Plus, "Desperate Housewives" doesn't really need publicity, considering it is consistently in the top five in the Nielson ratings each week.
It just didn't fit in. When America watches MNF it doesn't care about anything other than the game. Show some football highlights before the contest, air the game, and afterward show whatever you want.
Eagles owner Jeff Lurie obviously has a different opinion.
"I loved it," he said. "I thought it was great."
Yeah, because advertising revenue helps pay the salary of everyone involved with the NFL. Why shouldn't he be happy?
Not everyone in the NFL agrees. The level-headed Dungy acknowledged the revenue helps make his wallet fatter, but he would rather the league use a different approach.
Lurie sounds greedier than Donald Trump.
Now ABC has the Federal Communication Commission, still steaming over the Janet Jackson episode at the Super Bowl, hot on its trail.
Needless to say, Michael Powell, chairman of the FCC, was not happy.
"I wonder if Walt Disney would be proud," he said.
Not good news for ABC since Powell and his cohorts are the ones who could launch a hefty fine in the direction of the station owned by the Disney Corporation.
Many times the FCC has overreacted and spent a lot of time on pointless issues. If and when they react to this instance it will finally be something they got right.
Fact of the matter is the sketch belonged somewhere else
Did most male viewers like seeing Sheridan on TV? Of course. But how many of them were sitting with their eight- year-old son or daughter while watching it?
ABC knew it was going to get backlash, and that's exactly what it wanted. The backlash leads to publicity, which leads to even more viewers for "Desperate Housewives."
The scene was somewhat entertaining, but it didn't make it right. It didn't serve any purpose for anyone in America except for the greedy higher ups at ABC.
