That the NCAA would allow the US Army to use tourney highlights as part of their new batch of online advertisements is hardly surprising — both organizations know a thing or two about exploiting certain segments of the young American population (though the NCAA have done so more successfully of late). Nor am I surprised that a successful author / TV pundit like Will Leitch, even at the height of his commercial success, would turn a blind eye to such advertisements appearing on Deadspin. Will’s already on record as saying “politics scare me” and he established himself as the Piers Morgan of sports bloggery sometime ago.
Nah, what I find surprising is that the U.S. Army, in their infinite wisdom, have gone for such a stiff presentation while trying to appeal to a readership that considers themselves slightly sharper than the average sports fan. Host Brian Fasulo combines the serious analytical presence of Tom Ellis with the tones of a less manic Sean Salisbury. Which is to say, you’ve met can openers with more personality.
With the very real possibility we might find ourselves colonizing occupying Iraq for the next 100 years, the American military desperately needs to get their shit together on the recruiting front. Though they’ve proven savvy enough to recognize the audience for the nation’s most popular sports blog might consider a tour of duty to be a career upgrade, that’s not nearly enough. Sponsoring sports blogs, xtreme motocross competitions and underground rock fests are certainly a foot in the door with a confused, gullible patriotic portion of the population, but they’re gonna need a compelling spokesperson other than Fasulo.
I humbly nominate (retired) Private Francis Soyer.