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Mr. October In My Living Room
by Mike Auerbach, Editor
October is a busy month. The leaves are changing, at least for those in the northern climates; Halloween - America's most popular non-religious holiday is coming; and this year's presidential race is adding itself to the mix. But perhaps the most dominating feature of October is playoff baseball.
Even though my team failed to make the playoffs this year and will remain nameless (it's the one that has choked down the stretch the last two years, 'nuff said) I still enjoy watching the playoffs. As a matter of fact my whole family likes watching baseball. And why not? Even though some NFL and NASCAR fans will beg to differ it's still America's pastime. Baseball has a wholesome image. Tainted recently by the steroid scandal it still seems to soldier on - growing in popularity every year.
As a father of two, baseball on television is an activity that we can watch together. Baseball is, for the most part, safe family programming. Occasionally a player will get hot under the collar, and if you can read lips you can figure out that sometimes they let loose a torrent of expletives that would make Howard Stern blush.
So what's the problem? It's the stuff that happens between innings that I have a beef with. How many commercials for erectile dysfunction drugs do we need to see? How many times do we need to hear what the possible side-effects are and what you should do if these problems last more than three hours? Do we really need to see that guy find his old tux, scoop his wife up and close the bedroom door behind them?
I understand that the target market for these products is probably the very same people that watch baseball. But do I have to watch baseball with the remote control in hand? Do I have to live in fear of the question from my daughter, "Dad, what does ED stand for?" It's getting to the point where I might just have to start watching professional soccer - they never stop for commercials.
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