Slate's Bizbox
the breakfast table: An e-mail conversation about the news of the day.

Kerr and Rothstein

the breakfast table
entries
123456789101112131415
from: Sarah Kerr

The Best Ever Icon Ever

Posted Wednesday, March 10, 1999, at 11:18 AM ET

Dear Ed,

I'm afraid I'm one of those unlucky millions who knew DiMaggio only in his late, modest-spokesman phase. I saw him as Mr. Coffee, of course, and if I'm not mistaken I recall him on TV, standing next to Gonzo and Miss Piggy. Or would dignified Joe D. not be the type to appear on something as goofy as The Muppet Show, and was the person I'm thinking of really Joe Namath? Sad that I can't remember. I see your point about all of us being unwitting killers, helping to enact a legend's mortality.

Twenty years from now, someone looking back at our bubble era will be struck by how often the media threw around words like "icon" and "best ever." But doesn't it often seem like the greatness craze reflects the media's calculations and fantasies more than those of the public? In this regard, check out some very myopic stories in today's sports pages about the NBA. Pro basketball ratings are doing just fine this year, defying dire predictions.

I remember a spate of stories a month and a half ago predicting NBA death throes. Based on the experience of baseball a few years back, it was assumed (by unimaginative reporters, who forget that the world evolves) that fans would feel betrayed by the players' strike and wouldn't tune in. People would also be turned off by the "thuggish" players, reporters said--an assumption that is hard not to interpret as unfair in most cases, and racially charged. And several gassy commentators assumed that no one would ever watch basketball again, because Michael Jordan had left the court.

Adam 12, we have an icon vacuum on our hands!

Now, coming as I do from Chicago, I'm a Bulls fan, and fascinated by Jordan. But this fear seemed preposterous to me, and it's been proven so. Being Michael Jordan was getting to be stressful for Michael Jordan, and having him around--having to root for him because he was so great; root against him because you felt sorry for his opponents; watch him decline; watch him kill himself trying to postpone the decline--was only going to get more stressful for watchers of basketball.

People may get into icons, but they're also fairly caught up in life, which goes on whether there's an icon in the house or not.

Should we talk about Kubrick next? What's your favorite of all his movies? I think I'd pick Lolita and The Shining. My least favorite is A Clockwork Orange, followed by Dr. Strangelove--though I haven't seen Barry Lyndon, and that sounds like a candidate.

All best,

Sarah

the breakfast table
entries
123456789101112131415
from: Sarah Kerr

The Best Ever Icon Ever

Posted Wednesday, March 10, 1999, at 11:18 AM ET
Print This ArticlePRINTDiscuss this in The FrayDISCUSSEmail to a FriendE-MAIL
Share on FacebookPost to MySpace!Share with MixxDigg ThisShare with RedditShare with del.icio.usShare with FurlShare with Ma.gnolia.comShare with SphereShare with Stumble Upon
Sarah Kerr is a regular contributor to Slate. Edward Rothstein is cultural critic at large for the New York Times. He writes the paper's "Connections" column on alternate Mondays (technology-related columns archived here) and is the author of Emblems of Mind: The Inner Life of Music and Mathematics.
Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum
What did you think of this article?
POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES
Washington Post
The Washington Post
OPINIONS
Imagine if...
Hiatt | What if McCain had waged his campaign based on respect?
Editorial: Meddlesome PalinKing: The Danger of Palin Power