Time TV critic James Poniewozik (formerly of Salon) unloaded a satchel of sneers in a commentary on NPR’s All Things Considered last night, protesting the “tiny craven brains” of people who want a cleaner Super Bowl broadcast this year.
“Advertisers, broadcasters, and the NFL are spooked by the post-Janet [Jackson] fallout, not to mention the 2004 election, which suggested that indignant red-staters would soon be marching on Madison Avenue with torches and pitchforks.” He concluded: “We’ll focus on the uplifting image of the game itself: Two gangs of chemically enhanced giants knocking the living crap out of each other. Let’s just hope their uniforms don’t rip. We wouldn’t want to send the wrong message to the kids, now, would we?”