Do we really need to watch other people live?

What is it about society that makes so many people interested in watching other people live on TV? I know reality TV shows are popular and that I am in the minority (having no interest in them at all) because they get wonderful TV ratings and advertisers want to pay for them.

Frankly, I don’t care who the subject of the reality TV show is. It could be my favorite sports figure / actor / politician / model etc. I have no interest whatsoever in watching them go about their daily life. Am I the only one who has other things to do and is too busy to watch other people do what they have to do on a given day?

And what about the subjects of the shows? Are these people that desperate to stay or become celebrities that they want to let millions of people watch them live? Why would they want the intimate personal details of their lives broadcast in the public domain?

So now we find out that Michael Vick is going to have a reality TV show on the BET Network. According its producers, "The Michael Vick Project will follow Vick's comeback in Philadelphia and also document his past, including the 2007 arrest for running a dogfighting ring.”

The Michael Vick Project? That’s the best they could come up with?

"I just want people to really get to know me as an individual," Vick said.

Why? Do you guys reading this have a burning desire to let everyone in America get to know you? I don’t want millions of people across the nation to know me. I want my family and friend to know me. Why would I want some character in Blow Hunk Idao to know me? That’s a bit odd don’t you think?

This isn’t an attack on Vick because I am actually one of those in the minority that believes he served his time and is now entitled do any of the privileges of life that the law allows him. The show could be about watching the Pope or the President live and I wouldn’t watch it.

I’m certain that the show will get wonderful ratings and I’m certain that many of you reading will be watching. I won’t, I don’t care because I have my own life to live. I guess you guys can let me know what happens. - Keith A. Baker

Keith A. Baker is a sports agent in Stamford, Connecticut. His goal is to offer a unique insight to the world of sports and Major League Baseball in particular. Comments in his columns are for entertainment purposes only and do not reflect the views and opinions of his firm or his clients.

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