DALLAS -- There are reportedly 5,000 members of the media in Dallas this week.
I'm going to suggest that's probably 1,500 more than needed.
I purposely did not go to media day Tuesday. They might as well call it, "Act Like an Ass day." Too many "boxer or briefs" questions.
The truth is players are available every day until Thursday but media day is a spectacle with too few original ideas and too many jackasses.
Thursday I was sent to cover the Black Eyed Peas news conference.
I'll admit, I know very little of their music and had to double check the fact that will.i.am puts his name in lower case with no spaces. That one's clearly not in the AP Stylebook.
But I found them to be genuine, interesting and actually humbled by the chance to perform in front of the nation. Check that, the world.
Too bad the NFL lets in so many morons.
What could have been an interesting discussion on the blending of sports, music and culture quickly devolved into a Q and A that makes me cringe.
Someone from Holland asked Fergie what time of day she felt "the hottest."
Not to be outdone, some hack from Australia asked if they'd come to his daughter's 15 birthday (they politely declined but will.i.am used the platform to point out the need to help those devastated by recent flooding down under).
And finally, some guy from an independent newspaper in Dallas asked Fergie if he could have a kiss.
Who do these questions serve but the self-centered jerks trying to do their own bit? No one else used their answers, as no one cared. I guess I wish the other members of the media would shout down absurd questions in a House-of-Commons type response. That is, a lot of booing and public chastising.
Look, I didn't come here looking to win a Pulitzer. I know this isn't the hardest hitting of assignments but there are still legit stories to do and asking Fergie to tie a cherry with her tongue isn't one of them.
The NFL needs to take stock of people making a total mockery of the event and simply not credential them. It's becoming a yearly contest of who can debase themselves the most.
Anyone who says "there's no such thing as a dumb question" has clearly never watched the media work a Super Bowl.
