Keller @ Large: Fake Trash Talk Stories Don't Work
BOSTON (CBS) - If you have a life, and don't want to waste precious minutes of it paying attention to what trashy tabloid newspapers have to say, then perhaps you missed the first make-believe ruckus of Super Bowl week.
Listen to Jon's commentary:
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Here are the non-controversial details behind this raging non-controversy.
At the sendoff rally for the Pats on Sunday, Tom Brady told the crowd of devoted fans:
"We're going to give it our best and hopefully, we'll have a lot more people at our party next weekend."
Let me repeat, Brady said "we're going to give it our best," not "we're going to slaughter those chumps," or "we're going to run up the score like a Manhattan restaurant tab."
He said that the Pats would "hopefully" win, which in the English language means a wish that his dream of victory comes true, not a boastful guarantee.
And he said that if giving it his best makes that wish come true, he then hopes to celebrate with the fans.
So of course, the New York tabloids went nuts, or rather, pursued their normal everyday task of trying to create a sensational story where there is none.
"Party of Jive," sneered the Daily News over a picture of Brady.
"Tom's Taunt," was the Post's front page lie, outdone only by the falsehood on their back page: "Tom Talks Trash."
I guess the Post knows trash when they see it.
They see it every day coming off their presses.
But amusingly, when the tabloids' so-called reporters tried to get Giants players to echo their rabble-rousing, those guys were having none of it.
"What is he supposed to say?" asked defensive star Justin Tuck.
"If they win they should have a huge party, that's the way this thing goes," observed guard Chris Snee.
"If you come out victorious in this game you should celebrate for a long time."
Yes, exactly.
Tabloids try to justify this thing by saying, hey, we're just trying to sell newspapers.
But judging from the circulation figures, it isn't working.
Maybe if they eased up on the fake trash talk stories, more people would come to view their product as more than just excess trash.
You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.
