The further dumbening of America

Today’s culprit: NPR!

On whatever show plays on NPR around 1:30p, NPR’s interviewer was discussing this year’s World Series bout between the Texas Rangers and the SF Giants with a Sport Illustrated reported. The SI reporter mentioned in passing that both franchises hadn’t even been in serious World Series contention for quite some time, and I quote, “forty-nine years” for the Rangers, “fifty” for the Giants.

This spurred the NPR interviewer to comment that (I paraphrase some of the following) fans would be watching a match up that “literally” would only come along “in 100 years.”

Nope. Not true.

1) This is a match-up that only took about fifty years for both franchises to get to. If it was a series that took “literally” 100 years to achieve, neither team would have had approximately 50 years since their last Series contention. It would have been … class? Who said, “100?” You get an A!

2) So, will we have to wait another “100 years” (sic) for the Rangers to meet the Giants for the World Series? No. It really depends on the strength of the teams’ rosters next year, how they play against the altered rosters of the teams in their divisions, injuries sustained to key players, and, oh, only about a googolplex of other factors. The Rangers/Giants tie-up for the World Series 2010 is not some goddamn Brigadoon that has risen from the mists of Cooperstown.

2.5) “Literally” means so much, and yet, to some, clearly so little. Ah, a new Scientific Truth!