Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Watching a Baseball Game without commercials

Can you even conceive of watching any sporting event on television, no matter the level of competition, and there not being any commercials?  No commercials when there are breaks in the play, and no commercials along the walls of the stands or on billboards.  I was shocked when I saw my first Cuban baseball game on TV, their number one in the world ranked professional team in qualifying games for the World Cup Tournament--and there were no advertisements in the stadium and no commercials between innings.  It was quite nice.

Can you picture a well-educated person (high school graduate) anywhere on the globe who has never heard of McDonalds?  I'll never forget finding someone who's never been seduced by the golden arches, (whose powerful seductive tactics successfully put Pinky's, a mexican-owned burger joint in Nogales, out of business). Our Cuban friend, Juany, who was gracious enough to drive us wherever we needed/ wanted to go while we were there, and I were in conversation. He was doing his best to answer my insatiable curiosity.  Trasie was hungry, and wondered where we could get something fast.  So I asked, jokingly, "Where's the nearest McDonalds?"  And he said, "What's that?"  I said, "McDonalds?  Are you serious? Have you never heard of McDonalds"
"What is it?" he said a little defensively.  I explained.  He tried to liken it to a Cuban (not) equivalent: DiTu.
I told him that it made my trip that he had never heard of McDonalds!


When I think about societal values and priorities, I think of my daughter, Ruby Gene who is 20 months old. She, like all children, will be bombarded by advertisements and commercials telling her of her lack of self worth, while promising to help her deficiencies.  So many are addicted to purchasing and consuming.  So many buy magazines and products in hopes that their physical bodies will be enhanced and more attractive.  It was amazing to be around kids who were secure, and did not worry about what they did not have, as if they needed those things to feel better about themselves.  I wish that Ruby and all kids could be free from the jaws of marketing machines who will belittle them into buying and craving their worthless junk.

I loved watching that baseball game with no commercials or advertisements.  The time between innings was short (2 minutes?), and the conversation about the upcoming batters, or how the pitcher was fairing, or how the respective teams were prospecting for the World Cup was delightful.

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