Football is the only sport I’m interested in watching these days — so it’s a long, long dry spell between February and August.
During that six-month lull, there is little on TV that interests me sports-wise unless it’s Sunday afternoon and I want to take a nap, in which case I turn to golf and immediately lapse into a coma.
So I’ve been thrilled with the off-season addition of Michael Irvin’s reality TV show “4th and Long,” a weekly, hour-long program that shows what it’s like to endure a tortuous training camp. The winning athlete gets an actual shot at making the Dallas Cowboys, although I feel sorry for the guy that “wins” this show and then has to endure a whole ‘nother training camp. Irvin made it clear to the contestants that if any of them mentioned “reality show” or tried to play to that angle then he would send their ass home.
Michael Irvin is a freaking ballbuster on this show. He’s like Vince Lombardi with a touch of Jeffrey Dahmer and a smidgen of Charles Manson, running his own version of a Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
Viewers easily can see why Irvin was a leader and motivator on those Super Bowl winning Cowboys teams of the 1990s.
On the other hand, I’ve been watching “The Superstars” this season, where athletes and celebrities pair up and compete in various athletic events.
Former Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens is among the cast members, and after the first few episodes it’s clear to see he is a lackluster leader who consistently falls short of his capabilities and doesn’t really seem to give a damn about anything except for how he looks. Sounds just like his time spent with the Cowboys.
