Kajrun Kombz of Facebook wrote, “Why do so many guys care what happens to Sanchez? Sounds like a nationwide man-crush.” The man couldn’t be more right with his analysis. We love to watch drama unfold, mostly because it serves as an excellent distraction to our own lives. We also like to watch drama unfold because of what drama means. Drama tells us that there is something at stake for the characters involved. When something is at stake or at risk, we recognize that there is a possibility for failure and even disaster. Who doesn’t love a good disaster?
Mark Sanchez is a sex-free Jodi Arias. We know that he is on trial for wrongs committed against the New York Jets fanbase. His supporter, Rex Ryan, is gonna go down with the ship. They brought in a media-fresh name, Tebow, to rile things up and we watched every minute. This is classic TV, but it isn’t meaningful or even slightly relevant.
Meanwhile, we’ve forgotten about North Korea in the face of our own bombing, just like we forgot about Syria in the face of North Korea. The media is a pusher, shoving something new, interesting, and maybe even marginally relevant in our face in hopes we get hooked and come back for more.
It is working. After all, I watched the draft.