Beauty Contests and Sports Are Rigged? Say it Ain't So, Joe! (They Are)

Well, well, well... Lookie here. What do we have? Another rigged beauty contest? How timely and perfect for the Euros! (That's European soccer for some of you folks). How timely and perfect and a total reflection of our broken economy and society...

Artwork and photograph by Mike Rogers (please use freely!)

As I wrote in Quite Coincidental Results of Miss Universe Beauty Contests, Games and Sports After Japan Disasters

In the seminal George Orwell book, 1984, the protagonist Winston Smith is at his office working. He gets up from his desk and heads to the restroom. There he is greeted by his boss. His boss asks Winston if he saw the 'big game' last night. Winston answers in the negative. Then the boss says something like,

"Wow! That was an exciting finish to a very exciting game! That's the best script we've written in a long time!" 

I think most people can already get what I am implying here. What I want to say is not a negative comment, nor a positive one. I am merely making  an observation as to the way things are and run in this world.

It doesn't matter if it's sports, or elections, news or even beauty pageants; if big money is involved you can bet that a big factor of "entertainment" and "drama" is indelibly tied into the result.

Let me give you some recent examples:

Japan suffers the worst natural calamity in centuries.... That year Japan's Women's Soccer team wins the world championship for the first time in their history...

A year later, the winner of the Miss Universe Japan 2012 beauty contest comes from the prefecture that was worst hit by the earthquake and tsunami...

In 1995, Kobe was devastated by the Great Hanshin Earthquake... Quite coincidentally, I'm sure, the Kobe baseball team, the Orix Blue Wave, won the championship in 1995 and 1996.

I also added in: Sumo is Fixed Like All Other Pro Sports

Take the example of CBS who used to do the Superbowl every year. CBS sells commercial time on the Superbowl for tens of millions of dollars. CBS wants to sell 4 or 5 hours of this commercial time to a sponsor.

If the games are blowouts and 70% the viewers turn off their TVs before the first half ends, sponsors are very upset. When sponsors are upset, the TV stations are very upset. Why? Because, if games are boring and people tune out, if this happens too much and too often then sponsors won't want to spend big money next year because they fear the same thing will happen.

If the sponsors don't pay big money, then who doesn't make big money? The league and team owners.

If you are an American, you might remember the Denver Broncos getting to the Superbowl in the early 1980s. They got blown out two years in a row. The games were basically over 1/2 way through the second quarter. The viewers turned their sets off. There haven't been any blowouts since then. Is it any wonder why?

Like I said, pro sports are a big business. The leagues have a product to sell. That product is supposed to be an exciting sports event that last for 4 hours and is profitable to their mass media partners too. When the game is over after 45 minutes, there are some very unhappy sponsors and media partners.

The league cannot afford to have that.

Yes, and it's not just sexy Japanese girls and big time sports in Japan... Today we have girls involved with the Miss American contest claiming "the fix was in" at the recent Miss America contest. Fox News (hold your nose) reports in: EXCLUSIVE: Second Miss USA Contestant says she overheard list of Top 5 finalists before live announcement.

Another Miss USA contestant has come forward saying she heard Miss Florida Karina Brez reveal the list of finalists backstage before the pageant’s Top 15 were even announced.

“I saw Florida backstage and she was very, very flustered and upset. I thought it might be because she didn’t make the top 15 cut, but at that point she was able to reveal to me at least four of the five names who went on to be the top girls,” the contestant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told FOXNews.com exclusively. “She couldn’t remember the fifth because she was so upset. Several of the girls then started hearing through the grapevine about a list; a lot of people were upset.”

Miss Pennsylvania Sheena Monnin first accused the Donald Trump-owned Miss USA pageant of rigging the competition last week. Monnin claimed Brez said she had seen a list of the top five finalists hours before last Sunday’s live telecast even started.

“Apparently the morning of June 3rd [Brez] saw a folder lying open to a page that said 'FINAL SHOW Telecast, June 3, 2012' and she saw the places for Top 5 already filled in,” Monnin wrote on her Facebook page.

I can only add to this farce that there really should be no surprise to anyone in this news and that anyone who is surprised and incredulous is living in fantasy-land. We live in a world where just about everything is fixed.

Our elections are fixed.

Our beauty contests are fixed.

Our sports are fixed.

Our economy and our stock market are fixed.

You can bet your bottom dollar that, as the money involved with any sort of event, contest or enterprise increases, so does the corruption.

The only people who don't believe so are dreaming.

'Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt' - Roman poet Juvenal (1st and 2nd century AD)

Yeah, but don't worry about it, folks. The new season of American Idol starts real soon.


NOTE: Are you a fan of the extremely popular American TV show, "House Hunters"? Well, you'll love this: "House Hunters:" Subjects say it's fake

Quite Coincidental Results of Miss Universe Beauty Contests, Games and Sports After Japan Disasters

Now, that the Miss Universe Japan contest is over and my dear friend Andrew over at the "It's a Wonderful Rife" blog picked the winner (the guy does have good taste!) I have an observation that I'd like to share with you.

sexy Japanese girls

This observation comes from years of working in the mass media and in marketing. It is an observation on something that happens so repeatedly I am surprised that it seems that few others notice it.

In the seminal George Orwell book, 1984, the protagonist Winston Smith is at his office working. He gets up from his desk and heads to the restroom. There he is greeted by his boss. His boss asks Winston if he saw the 'big game' last night. Winston answers in the negative. Then the boss says something like,

"Wow! That was an exciting finish to a very exciting game! That's the best script we've written in a long time!" 

"I wouldn't kick any of them out of bed for eating sembei!"

I think most people can already get what I am implying here. What I want to say is not a negative comment, nor a positive one. I am merely making  an observation as to the way things are and run in this world.

It doesn't matter if it's sports, or elections, news or even beauty pageants; if big money is involved you can bet that a big factor of "entertainment" and "drama" is indelibly tied into the result.

Let me give you some recent examples:

Japan suffers the worst natural calamity in centuries.... That year Japan's Women's Soccer team wins the world championship for the first time in their history...

A year later, the winner of the Miss Universe Japan 2012 beauty contest comes from the prefecture that was worst hit by the earthquake and tsunami...

In 1995, Kobe was devastated by the Great Hanshin Earthquake... Quite coincidentally, I'm sure, the Kobe baseball team, the Orix Blue Wave, won the championship in 1995 and 1996.

There's a ton more of examples like this... Remember a few years back when Japan and Korea hosted the 2002 World Cup and Korea met powerhouse Spain? Yeah, Spain lost to Korea. In the final 10 minutes of the game, three goals by Spain were called back. Now, I'm not saying that game was "fixed" per say... But, face it folks, the World Soccer League is a business like any other. The Asian countries all had lots of money and any business knows that expansion into Asia is a smart and profitable move... The league knows that the local leagues must succeed and do well at home. This, of course, made for a situation whereby the league tries to arrange, how do you say? Better and more accommodating conditions for the Japanese and Korean teams.   

I think Japan finished in the top 8. Korea finished in the top 4. Neither of them have ever been in the top 16 (32?) before or since. You judge for yourself what that implies.

And don't think for a moment that this is confined to Japan and soccer... It happens in the USA and Europe for ALL major sports events. The bigger the money involved, the more corrupt the results will be. Please refer to Sumo is Fixed Like All Other Pro Sports

Take the example of CBS who used to do the Superbowl every year. CBS sells commercial time on the Superbowl for tens of millions of dollars. CBS wants to sell 4 or 5 hours of this commercial time to a sponsor.

If the games are blowouts and 70% the viewers turn off their TVs before the first half ends, sponsors are very upset. When sponsors are upset, the TV stations are very upset. Why? Because, if games are boring and people tune out, if this happens too much and too often then sponsors won't want to spend big money next year because they fear the same thing will happen.

If the sponsors don't pay big money, then who doesn't make big money? The league and team owners.

If you are an American, you might remember the Denver Broncos getting to the Superbowl in the early 1980s. They got blown out two years in a row. The games were basically over 1/2 way through the second quarter. The viewers turned their sets off. There haven't been any blowouts since then. Is it any wonder why?

Like I said, pro sports are a big business. The leagues have a product to sell. That product is supposed to be an exciting sports event that last for 4 hours and is profitable to their mass media partners too. When the game is over after 45 minutes, there are some very unhappy sponsors and media partners.

The league cannot afford to have that.

Now, many people will get angry at what I am saying here... But it's true. 

The girl who won the Miss Universe Japan Beauty Contest is a very beautiful girl and she deserves to win... I'm not taking anything away from her. But don't think for a moment that she didn't get special attention because of where she's from. I think it would be foolish to entertain the thought that she didn't.

In the case of this Miss Universe contest, the folks who run these contests also have concerns about public image and Corporate Social Responsibility. They also don't want to be seen as exploiting women so they want to put the best face forward and show that their contest is good and beneficial for society. Miss Miyagi winning this contest brings much good publicity and business to that devastated area. 

Miyagi needs good news, no?

It's good that Miss Miyagi won the contest but don't think for a minute that the disaster, pain, suffering and memory of March 11 didn't help the give the judges more consideration of her over the other girls.

The contest is, after all, run like a business.

Am I the Only Person Who Doesn't Care About the Grammy Awards?

The title to this blog says it all. Am I the only person who doesn't care about the Grammy Awards? I saw this comment on Facebook and was relieved that there is someone who thinks like me. Sometimes I've wondered if I am the only person in the entire world who doesn't care about this stuff and doesn't watch it. I don't care about the Academy Awards or the Oscars or the Super Bowl either. They are all boring.

Yes. That's what I said! B-O-R-I-N-G! Of course all professional sports are boring. And, since pro sports are big money entertainment, they aren't what they seem. Big money equals big corruption (or haven't you been paying attention?). Anyway, who cares if some professional team beats another one? They really have nothing to do with your city (besides a contract with a stadium or auditorium) and their winning will not change your life in the least. Still people think they care. 

I also don't like these awards shows because of their high-brow attitude. I don't like "snooty high-brow" anything whereby people try to act like they are important or the center of the world (or even the center of wherever it is that they are at in any given moment.) It's like the folks who are in a members-only club; I don't like it.

I sometimes get invited to join these members-only clubs. Chuckle. I always use the Groucho Marx quote: "I refuse to join any club that would allow people like me as a member."

"Whatever it is... I'm against it!"

Today, I got an email from a friend in Hollywood who produces independent music, videos and films. He wrote:

"Wow, trying to watch the Grammy's, you were correct. You would have contracted jet lag (coming to Los Angeles) just to be bored to death. I like some country music and was very into rap before it got big, I don't hate music for being popular, but this is so mindless and bloated - I don't feel bad these people are on a sinking ship. 

It's sad because pop music can be a great thing but they are trying to symbolically respond to things like Etta James and Whitney Houston dying but it reduces everything to packaged cheese."


Yes. That's it. Totally like packaged cheese! The Grammy's are boring because it is a bunch of people giving awards to themselves for turning music into packaged cheese... The ones who can ruin the music the most and make it into the most bland and tasteless cheese sold to the same people who like stuff like McDonald's food gets the awards.


Great! Watching milk curdle! What excitement.


And what's even worse is that there are people who live such boring and unsatisfying lives that they think they actually care about this stuff...


It's too bad people have such uninteresting lives that they find this sort of Bread & Circuses entertaining or gratifying in the least.

Perfect timing for a ratings boost.... And crocodile tears...

We live in a very sick society that is fascinated by idol worship. Too bad people don't go out and get a life.


I think your average kitchen toaster offers a better evening of entertainment than the Grammy Awards do.


Thanks to Mickey Valentine and James Valentine (I don't think they are any relation!) 

Boycott Groupon?

You'll see, Groupon keeps pissing people off with their marketing so people have started boycotting Groupon. 


As I wrote yesterday, it looks like Groupon screwed up again and people are mightily pissed off about them making fun of serious environmental issues and human oppression.


Funny that, eh? People get angry when you make fun of rape, pillage, torture or the end of the world.


Even more than the ad that I didn't like where Groupon makes fun of Amazon rain forest deforestation, it seems those clowns actually ran an ad that made light of China's oppression of the people of Tibet. The ad featured Timothy Hutton and he said, "The people of Tibet are in trouble. But they still whip up an amazing fish curry!" 


It then went on to promote Groupon. 


Maybe the curry is tasty. This ad campaign isn't. What were they thinking?

Ha! Ha! Ha! Yeah. Hilarious right? Young girls raped and old men and women getting whipped and beaten by jack-booted Chinese security forces in Tibet! Hilarious.... I can't stop laughing! Yeah, and did you hear the screamer about genocide, rape and murder in Palestine too? The people at Groupon must be laughing their ass off at that one! Look for that to be their next ad campaign.


What a bunch of fools these Groupon people must be. I always compare them to Amway, but, in this case, they are much worse. At least the Amway folks were polite... Sort of.


The CEO of Groupon, Andrew Mason, must really be a bozo. I imagine that he is a typical rich-kid that has no idea of how the world actually works and has never really had a job. When you read about Groupon's consistent mess ups and his idiotic apologies, you wonder what planet this guy is living on.


Dear readers can do as they please, but I am going to boycott Groupon and never use their service.... My official boycott starts today.


I've written before that Groupon's business model is unsustainable, Mish Shedlock pointed out that he thinks that Groupon will regret not taking $4 billion (USD) from Google, and, judging from the negative press that's come out these last few days (again) I predict Groupon is about to get "pooped-on" by a lot of people.


I imagine that, in the worst case, if they can, the people who work with Groupon CEO Andrew Mason in upper management must be planning a Coup De Etat against that guy. He has no humility and he has no common sense. The guy's video's reek of insincerity. His handling of these screw ups must be really making people worry about where his head is at. I know I'd be thinking, "How do we get rid of this clown?"


He's lucky that Groupon is not a publicly traded company. If they were, they would have given him the boot by now.


But, I'll bet they can't show him the door and this will really hurt Groupon. Google would never offer them $4 billion USD today. They messed up big time. Funny that... Groupon and "messed up big time" are becoming synonymous.


Andrew, your companies "parody" videos are not funny nor are they endearing to the people.


The Wall Street Journal writes in "Is Groupon the real Super Bowl loser?": 


The ads triggered so much criticism that Groupon's founder, Andrew Mason, went online not to apologize for them but to explain them. He said the Super Bowl commercials that are truly offensive are ones built around "the crass objectification of women." Groupon's ads didn't do that.


Earth to Andy, earth to Andy. Hello? "Objectification of women? You are talking about ads for the Superbowl that Joe Sixpack is watching.... You know, a program that features a war of the gridiron and girls in mini skirts screaming "Go Team!" or "Drink Busweiser!" You know, T & A is what 90% of the viewers (who just so happen to be guys) want to see.


Doh!


Or, Andy, have you never watched the Superbowl like regular American Joe Sixpack has?... (Actually, judging from how you fouled this one up too, it wouldn't surprise me if you said that you never have).

At least Homer is cute & funny... And loved by the people.

Groupon CEO Andrew Mason continually insists upon showing his lack of class, humility and understanding by making these foolish "apology" videos. In fact, this time, for these offensive Super Bowl videos, he didn't apologize. He is actually so daft that he went on TV to explain them.


Come on, Andy, how dumb can you be? Everyone knows a joke isn't funny if it has to be explained. 


Groupon is not funny. Nor is it an endearing brand. Not a good combination for success. 


Boycott Groupon? It's on!  


UPDATE:


There is a Facebook "Boycott Groupon" group that just started. Join here.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boycott-Groupon/169470236433287?v=wall

UPDATE TWO:


Interestingly, after I wrote this blog I Google searched, "Boycott Groupon." I found 290,000 results. Seems there are many people who think like me. Nice work, Andy.


I thought this boycott pretty much summed it all up.   


Thanks to Mark Davis in Florida!


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Groupon Does Something Stupid Again... What Did I Tell You?

What did I tell you? I wrote on January 24, 2010 that we wouldn't have to wait long for the  management of Groupon to do something stupid again and, not even three weeks later, they have.


The management of Groupon must be geeks who are geniuses at the Internet but not have any common sense when dealing with people in the real world. They've gone and messed up again. Less than one month after I predicted that they would screw up soon!


There's something funny (and I don't mean humorous) about Groupon management.


Now it seems that they managed to blow millions on Superbowl ads that failed to get the message across and, in fact, made a lot of people angry.


NY Times reports:


Groupon may not be making its initial public offering yet — but it has made its mark on millions watching the Super Bowl, anyway. 
What is not clear yet is whether the start-up has burned through a lot of good will.


The company bought its first television ads for the big game, starting before kickoff, with one theme: “Save the Money.” All the commercials are premised on saving something endangered — and a few bucks to boot.


There’s Cuba Gooding Jr. lamenting the fate of whales, while touting a 43 percent discount on a whale-watching boat ride. And there’s Elizabeth Hurley, intoning about the rapid deforestation of the Brazilian rain forest … followed by a note that “not all deforestation is bad,” like a 50 percent discount on a Brazilian wax in New York City. 


Actually, as a person who does cares about the environment, I can say that this ad with Elizabeth Hurley pissed me off:





OK, maybe I can understand the management of Groupon being ignorant and callous about Japanese sensitivities, but being ignorant of American Liberal tendencies? Making fun a a serious environmental problem? 


Laughable. Well, it would be laughable if it were a joke. But Groupon is about as much a joke as Amway was... So laugh if you will.


Please don't come back to me saying that "Groupon matches your sale with an investment to a charity." For one, I am not impressed with a 50% off sale (when they are just going to pass that cost off to their clients anyway). And I am not impressed by most of these dodgy charities.


(For a charity that I approve of see Rock Challenge Japan)


If Groupon were really sincere in trying to create goodwill then they'd have just made a commercial saying that they would match donations or make a commercial that asked you to help donate to the cause. 


How this company got to be such a big buzz is beyond me. I mean, who wants to keep getting bombarded with ads to buy crap that no one needs? Why would I want to get a 50% discount on a $4 hamburger that takes me 1.5 hours round-trip to get to?


In my opinion, the Groupon business model is non-sustainable and, if they keep making gaffes like this, they won't last 10 years. 


I'm getting to hate Groupon.


This old lady hates it too! Read this. It's pretty funny. From the Angry Blogger.

This 102 year old grandmother can’t take GroupOn’s constant “massage” coupons or other useless crap it offers. The amazement started when she heard about this ‘coupon’ site. She’s notorious for collecting and saving hundreds of dollars using coupons. Then her grandson decided to bring her up to speed for her coupons with an iPad. She was thrilled to learn how to get coupons easily daily, until the app opened up. As she clinked her scissors in one hand she realized she just needed to save her fifty cents on toilet paper, another $1 on mascara, and where the hell were her buy one get one free bread offers? Why did she keep getting offers like $89 for a Boudoir Photography Session at Red1 Studios ($450 Value)? Her weak heart cried out, “I’m 102 sonny, no one wants to see me in this sexy outfit I have on.” Another coupon comes into her email, $20 for $40 Worth of Asian Cuisine at Mr. Yum. She snickers, they give me gas. But if I had a coupon for Zantac I’d probably eat there.

So GroupOn, if you are going to keep sending crap out to grandma like $15 for One Hour of Billiards and One Pitcher of Beer or Soda at Doral Billiards & Sports Bar ($32 Value) make sure it comes with delivery service for people that are 102 years old!

Read more at The Angry Blogger. 


Comments:? Comments should be succinct, constructive and relevant to the story. We encourage engaging, diverse and meaningful commentary. Comments that include personal attacks, racial, religious, or ethnic slurs are not permitted. We will remove any inappropriate comments.