All the marketing of this "event" really irked me. There was only a slight ramp up for the 50th anniversary. Maybe it's just the internet's presence that's making infotainment so prevalent but still, why THIS much love now? Not that there's anything wrong with it, of course, as I even have a picture of him stealing home on my blogroll of idols, but it seems like overkill to have EVERY black player wear it, right? It feels more like marketing than love.
There wasn't a plan for this obnoxious mess, it just kinda happened, like everything else in baseball. Ken Griffey, Jr asked to wear the number (like he did for the 50th ten years ago) and a bunch of other people thought it was a great idea. So then you have whole teams and a bunch of players wearing the number and then it all becomes politicized: "Why won't you wear #42? Don't you respect Jackie Robinson? or "Why do you want to wear #42 Mr. White Guy? Your grandfather spit on Jackie Robinson!" and all that nonsense.
That said, I'm sure Mr. Robinson is honored to be the The End Of Cinema Number Of The Day for April 15, 2007.
All the marketing of this "event" really irked me. There was only a slight ramp up for the 50th anniversary. Maybe it's just the internet's presence that's making infotainment so prevalent but still, why THIS much love now? Not that there's anything wrong with it, of course, as I even have a picture of him stealing home on my blogroll of idols, but it seems like overkill to have EVERY black player wear it, right? It feels more like marketing than love.
ReplyDeleteThere wasn't a plan for this obnoxious mess, it just kinda happened, like everything else in baseball. Ken Griffey, Jr asked to wear the number (like he did for the 50th ten years ago) and a bunch of other people thought it was a great idea. So then you have whole teams and a bunch of players wearing the number and then it all becomes politicized: "Why won't you wear #42? Don't you respect Jackie Robinson? or "Why do you want to wear #42 Mr. White Guy? Your grandfather spit on Jackie Robinson!" and all that nonsense.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I'm sure Mr. Robinson is honored to be the The End Of Cinema Number Of The Day for April 15, 2007.