Covering University of Colorado sports, mostly basketball, since 2010

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

The day the Denver media lost their minds

Somewhere along the last 48 hours, everyone in the Denver/Boulder media lost their minds.  They were at one point, I'm assured, professional journalists, capable and willing to do a solid job covering local interest stories.  Then CU decided to bring Butch Jones in for an interview, and give a go at respecting his privacy by limiting pictures, per a request from the man himself.  Every ounce of self respect was immediately thrown out the window.

It all started when Butch arrived on a plane from Cincinnati. CU had the plane diverted to a separate part of the airport to avoid the assembled press.  Fair enough.  But then, a camera crew from 9News went full stalker.  They tracked down the escaping SUV, and proceeded to shoot, edit, and broadcast the creepiest  video in the history of coaching searches.

Can you imagine the scene?  Bohn stops the car to talk, the 9News van slides up next to them, and the conversation goes down with some idiot cameraman pressed up against the window, like some voyeur paparazzi straining to land footage of a partying royal.  Ridiculous.

Not to be outdone, once at the stadium, the circling press, rabid for something to report, began taking spy photos of the interview being held at Folsom Field.
Can we make the picture grainier?  Maybe make it black & white?  From: the Post
That's some serious Soviet-era shit going down right there.  What's next, microfilm hidden in a church pew?

But, everyone saved the best for last.  Someone at the athletic department decided to get creative with Coach Jones' exit from Folsom.  In order to get him out privately, they literally had two employees move a giant food warmer between him and the cameras to obscure his dash to the car.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
We've gone to plaid.... From: the BDC
Of course, that immediately brought to mind this scene from GoldenEye:

Grown adults - men with degrees from prestigious institutions, and holders of large piles of both cash and respect - devolved into running and hiding from gumshoe journalists who had watched Tinker, Taylor, Solider, Spy one too many times.  Over a damn football coach, potentially about to be hired onto a floundering program.  Did I take crazy pills Sunday night?

I give up.  Can someone please turn this into a movie script?  It's beyond the pale.
All that bullshit for this lame picture?  From: The BDC
In all, Coach Jones spent nearly nine hours in Boulder, more than double the time he spent visiting Purdue.  What that means going forward is anyone's guess, as he's still deciding.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Butch Jones brought this on himself and CU by being so offended by the fact tat he was photographed at Purdue. Who does this guy think he is? Didn't he put his make-up on before these visits? Was he unaware that his weekly football games and coach's show was televised? Did he think that his visit would remain a secret if there wasn't any photographic evidence? Just give the media a quick photo opportunity and thy will move on, try to keep a secret and that becomes the story.