Sensationalism

For once when Terrell Owens says something, it wasn't illicting hoards of hate in his direction.

In fact, it seemed as if when Owens jokingly referred to Jessica Simpson's appearance in a Texas Stadium luxury suite at Tony Romo's worst game this season as a distraction, people laughed it up.

And went too far.

Days after losing to the Philadelphia Eagles, folks began to have a field day with the fact that Romo hadn't performed well with her or former girlfriend Carrie Underwood were in the suite. While many in the media used the excuse of 'T.O. being T.O.' to run with this story, it already had legs of its own thanks to someone... something else.

FOX.

It's no secret that FOX fashions itself as an entertainment network, from its success with staples such as The Simpsons and American Idol to its monumental emphasis on sports programming with its coverage of NFC games. The slant on sports is similar to anything else under the helm of Rupert Murdoch; make it sexy, salacious or scandalous. FOX is a master of cross promotions in their sports programming... not so much on their technological innovations (that failed tail on the hockey puck during their five minutes of NHL coverage). Yet, FOX wants to show their games to more than sports loyalists, but to the ultimate casual fan who probably doesn't have a clue about what is happening on the field.

Enter Jessica.


Somehow, the pop singer who lagged behind Britney Spears, Christina Aguliera and the boy-bands of the mid-to-late nineties has survived it all to become something more than relevant in a new era of entertainment. She has the music, movies, magazine covers, Pepsi campaigns and likely, the best publicist in the business (the latter is the only logical explanation of how she has made it to 2007 without becoming an answer to a trivia question). And now she has the quarterback of the most popular team in the country's most popular sport. Though this wasn't her first appearance at a Cowboys game at home, this was the first time that FOX noticed this. Just when you thought that you were watching a football game with a few bells and whistles, you found yourself wanting to throw the remote at the TV because of the constant references and attention to Simpson's relationship with Romo.

Outside an October loss to the New England Patriots, there was little for Cowboys fans to get riled up about this season. Of course, considering that any mention of her brings out the gossip pages, trashy tabloids and Perez Hilton-wannabes, this gave Cowboys fans something to be quite miffed about. One fan was so incensed that he felt that this story is the reason why women shouldn't watch football. While this isn't or shouldn't be a reason to call upon women's right advocates, this is a reason to wonder if this would happen with another network. Well...

This wouldn't happen on CBS. CBS' sports coverage is as no-frills as it gets.

Maybe on NBC. The Peacock has its hands in many forms of entertainment thanks to its parent, General Electric, yet they have some limits.

ABC? Well, it happened already. Someone by the name of Eva Longoria.

If you are tired of hearing about Jinxing Jessica, don't blame Owens. Don't even blame the media at-large. Blame FOX.

Because the camera could have shown the Eagles enjoying this upset. Or maybe Romo, himself.

If there's one thing to appreciate about this overblown story, the sales on pink-colored jerseys may decrease. It's about time.

Say What?!?!: Call this an early present from Scribe. I remember watching this game in my dorm room. There was no doubt that this was one of the worst officiated games I have ever seen, but the nation only knows about this because of color commentator Tommy Heinsohn's brilliance. Enjoy!