I thought this weeks reading on Jessica Simpson and Tony
Romo was interesting. We frequently see the media focus so much on athlete’s
personal lives instead of just their personal lives. In todays society the
personal has become the public if you are at the celebrity athlete status.
While this article is dated in the sense that Jessica and Tony are not longer
together, it is still very relevant.
Just two weeks ago on ESPN2
the commentators on First Take were
discussing quarterback Aaron Rodgers poor performances and the correlation to
his new girlfriend Olivia Munn. Rodgers has really never been in a relationship
during his career that was with another celebrity. Not only were the
commentators wondering if she was a distraction but the fans in Green Bay were
also placing some of the blame on the new girlfriend. We still see even today
the media placing blame where blame should not be placed.
I would be interested in looking into if the media is
portraying Olivia Munn in a similar fashion like how Jessica Simpson was
treated in Dallas. I do not know enough about the current situation to say
whether or not she is being seen as a jinx or distraction. However, it could be
interesting to see what the media is saying.
I also thought the comparison of Jessica and Tony to
Victoria and David Beckham was interesting. The idea that dating Tony Romo kept
Jessica Simpson relevant had never really crossed my mind. That also could be
due to the fact that Jessica Simpson has never really been on my radar.
Nonetheless, the idea that she was submerged into his identity is an
interesting idea. That makes me wonder, how did she get her identity back when
they broke up? If she was now seen as the supportive girlfriend how was she
able to still remain relevant after the split, and what does that say about our
society and how we brand people.
Cam,
ReplyDeleteThe idea of blaming the significant other for poor performance is absolutely ridiculous. For example, look at the video we watched today in class. A car dealership owner wrote on his digital sign that Simpson needed to leave Romo alone until after the Super Bowl. What is sad is that those in the area actually agreed with the owner. They are “die-hard” Cowboy football fans, which is why they are so upset, but just because you are a fan doesn’t make you credible enough to make and/or believe those types of accusations.
I agreed with the point that someone brought up during class today regarding the idea of an athlete successfully balancing between a relationship and athletics. A true star player requires mental strength, along with physical, and performance execution. The fans of athletes like Romo clearly demonstrate that they consciously, or unconsciously, see a major flaw in their star athlete. They might not want to believe this flaw; therefore, they turn and place the blame elsewhere. Perhaps this is the reason behind the Dallas fans’ comments in Simpson and Romo’s situation.
I agree with Casey. when we were discussing this in class I was getting pretty angry. Blaming a girlfriend or significant other for something like poor performance is a way for fans to sleep better at night. I think the media played a negative role in this and portrayed Jessica and a bad person. I do not think she did anything wrong, being a good girlfriend and attending Romo's games and even a trip to Cabo is not a bad thing. I believe that Romo, as a professional athletic, could have stepped up to the plate and defend his girlfriend or simply just played better.
ReplyDeleteCam you make a great point about how was she able to regain her own identity after they broke up. i agree that this could be a struggle for Jessica since she was so publicly show as a back up to Romo. Finding herself again after a media crazed breakup could have been difficult.
Maddy
Cam,
ReplyDeleteI also believe it is silly to blame someone else for a professional athlete’s performance. I don’t believe she was a distraction for Romo. I think the media made Jessica a scapegoat. Now that Jessica is gone, whenever Romo messes up on the field he is bashed by the media and people on social media. People are starting to zone in on the person responsible for Romo’s performances, which is Tony Romo himself. It’s easy to blame someone else because it provides fans with a reason to believe in their beloved hero. I wonder how often Romo accepted the blame when it was placed on Jessica. I believe the media is trying to make Olivia Munn a scapegoat for Rodger’s performance. In my eyes, Rodgers isn’t struggling enough for fans to worry. Society’s view on gender roles really shows in situations like this. Good post.
I agree with all of you that blaming a significant other is ridiculous. While playing football in high school, my coach would try to prevent anybody on the team from dating during the season. He would always say that having a girlfriend makes you "soft". Then if you did date somebody during the season he would always have a "talk" with your girlfriend to tell them to not make you upset during the season. It is, to this day, still the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard. Being in a relationship is not distracting. A large percentage of NFL players are married or in a serious relationship. When they are in the middle of a bad streak, their significant others do not get blamed for it. Only when you are the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, America's team, and dating a celebrity in Jessica Simpson does it become a problem.
ReplyDeleteHi Cam,
ReplyDeleteI also agree that it is silly, as well as not fair to blame someone else for a professional athlete's performance. Of course relationships affect people's lives in several ways, however in my mind, he is ultimately in charge of himself and his own athletic performance. While I know virtually nothing about Jessica Simpson, it's not fair to blame her for his actions. Perhaps beloved sports fans just need someone other than the athlete to blame, because of how idolized athletes become; they can do no wrong. Like David said in his comment before mine, however, it is interesting to see how the media is now blaming Tony Romo for his mistakes and performances, rather than Jessica Simpson now that they are no longer together. I don't know much about their relationship other than what this article talks about, but it would be interesting to see if Romo ever defended her, or if he just let her be the scapegoat. I personally think the whole thing is silly, because that's their private life and I don't approve of the way media tends to stereotype or brand people, like you said.
Jacquelyn LaFave