homegame

Best Interview of 2007

Red Sox fans should feel a sense of quiet pride this morning, not because their team trounced Cleveland 10-3 in Game One of the ALCS, but due to the actions of one of their own. The universally despised sports television genre of "celebrity interview in the stands" was given a swift kick in the groin last night by Stephen King.

There are celebrities who make a big deal out of being sports fans, and then there are celebrities who were fans long before anybody knew who they were. King falls squarely in the latter category. The Maine native is a Sox fan, has the wherewithal to go to many games, and makes no show about it. King has been around Fenway since I started covering the team in 1980. There were some lackluster seasons in that time span. He's no front-runner.

Last night, King did what every red-blooded American sports fans dreams about at night. He made Fox Sports look as stupid as it is.

The Sox put the game away early, which inevitably means Fox inserts more bullshit bells and whistles into the broadcast to keep the audience from switching-not that there's anything to switch to on Friday nights. Chris Myers, not a dope, was told to interview King.

King had a book he was reading between innings and during pitching changes. Myers asked him if it was one of King's own works.

"No," replied the author (this is a paraphrase), "I know how those come out."

Down four runs in the top of the first, Myers rallied by asking King if he read during most games, and got an affirmative answer. Then King sealed the interview's doom.

"I usually can read about x pages between innings," King said (again paraphrase), "but when Fox does a game, I can read much more."

Top that, Ben Affleck!

posted by Michael Gee @ 7:45 AM