Media reaction to ESPN's announcement that Rush Limbaugh will be joining their Sunday NFL Countdown show has been predictably snarky (check in with Salon's King Kaufman and the New York Times' Richard Sandomir for just two examples) -- but that doesn't mean some of the comments aren't funny.
Here's Chuck Finder in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Forget any Howard Cosell comparisons. Cosell was an accomplished sports journalist and blessed with a once-in-a-lifetime foil, Dandy Don Meredith. Limbaugh on "Countdown" is akin to Terry Bradshaw on "Face the Nation" or Deion "What Would Jesus Charge" Sanders on anything from the Discovery Channel.
How about Mike Tierney from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
So, in adding this blowhard to the cast, ESPN has done more than further blur the line between entertainment people and sports commentators. Never has someone making the transition alienated a sizable portion of the audience before uttering the first multisyllabic word.
Unfortunately for Tierney, I don't think he understands that's part of the reason ESPN decided to do this. Hiring Dennis Miller was odd, maybe even a little bit weird. But hiring Limbaugh, that's going to really tick people off. And as a result, those who both love and hate him will tune in -- at least for a little while.
Paging through the various reactions, I couldn't help but be struck at how so many columnist's enmity for Limbaugh seemed to overcome their critical faculties. Many of these writers seem to have forgotten that though they might not understand the appeal Limbaugh might deliver, it doesn't mean that appeal doesn't exist.
It seems to me that Limbaugh's affect on the body politic is sort of a mirror image of Hilary Clinton's. A few weeks ago, conservative pundit Tucker Carlson loudly proclaimed on CNN's Crossfire that Clinton's book, Living History, would never sell a million copies. A few weeks later, this is what happened.
Don't be surprised if we see something similar happen after ESPN wraps up its coverage of the 2003 NFL season.
UPDATE: Online friend and expatriate New Yorker Charles Kuffner is dubious about the whole enterprise:
Eric McErlain thinks this may have been a shrewd move by ESPN. He may be right, but I'd bet that the curiosity factor gives a ratings spike in the first week or two, followed by a return to roughly normal, perhaps a bit more and perhaps a bit less. Won't matter to me, though - I won't be watching.
A question for Charles: were you watching in the first place? I know I wasn't, now, I'll at least tune in the first time he's on. ESPN's strategy is all about building an audience without the added incentive of being the lead-in to an actual game, and Limbaugh's addition exposes a whole new audience to the show.
Forget for a second that we're talking about Limbaugh. Just say that ESPN was adding a radio talk show host to their lineup who has a listenership of 20 million. Think that might be beneficial?
Next, unlike Dennis Miller, who hosted a late night show on HBO once a week, Limbaugh is on three hours a day, five days a week. If he gets merely one percent of his audience of 20 million listeners to tune in, ESPN will see it in the ratings. And if he teases his audience on Friday afternoon, letting them in on the fact that they can expect to see some fireworks on Sunday, that number may end up a lot higher.
Granted, there are no guarantees here. But ESPN really has nothing to lose.
Yes, I watched. That was dictated more by my wife’s tolerance for still more football after a Sunday afternoon’s worth than anything else. But yes, I watched the Sunday night game more often than not, and if we finished dinner early I’d tune in to the pregame show.
Thing is, I don’t think people like me will forget that it’s Limbaugh. If they’d hired Bill Clinton instead, I’d expect the same reaction from some other folks. And didn’t I read somewhere that the NFL is making a pitch to female fans? I can’t see how Limbaugh helps them there (not that this was an NFL move, of course).
I do think he’ll attract some new viewers, though I wonder how many Limbaugh listeners are not already football fans, and I do think that some Limbaugh haters will tune in initially to see if he’ll fail or to stoke their own outrage. In the end, I think it’s a gimmick that may attract a few new watchers, and may turn off some regular fans, much like Dennis Miller was. For me personally, I don’t like him and I’ll vote with my remote.
Charles:
I think you’re confusing “NFL Primetime”, the show that wraps up the 1PM and 4PM games and serves as a sort of pre-game for the 8PM ESPN game with “NFL Countdown”, the Sunday morning show that is on after SportsCenter and before the 1PM games.
Matt, you’re right. I was confused. I generally watch the Fox pregame show if I tune in that early on. So I guess they won’t miss me after all.