I once had a job working in the broadcast department of the non-profit that puts on the annual New York City Marathon. On paper, my job description was something like Make jogging fun to watch for five straight hours of live TV. In reality the job was more about cramming as many ASICS logos onto as many smartphone and television screens as possible and then finding some b-list celebrities to interview so viewers would have something to look at besides jogging and ASICS logos.
Some sports are meant to be broadcast live on TV. Long-distance running is not one of them. For me, watching a person jog is like looking at the face of a shitting dog. The marathon is not a sport that was made for television. It is, in my mind, the furthest you can get from a sport that is meant to be experienced through screens. After what I witnessed near the finish line of the 26.2 miles course of the NYC Marathon, I am not sure if the sport is meant for the average sports spectator at all, never mind a live television production that involves helicopters, police escorts, dozens of camera operators and directors, working with a multi-million dollar budget hedged against their estimated ability to sell sneakers.
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