{"id":162,"date":"2015-08-07T01:33:53","date_gmt":"2015-08-07T05:33:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rushlimbaugh.com\/?p=162"},"modified":"2026-02-25T04:39:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T09:39:27","slug":"the-tearing-down-of-sports-figures-and-celebrities-by-the-media-is-part-of-americana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admin.rushlimbaugh.com\/daily\/2015\/08\/07\/the-tearing-down-of-sports-figures-and-celebrities-by-the-media-is-part-of-americana\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tearing Down of Sports Figures and Celebrities by the Media Is Part of Americana"},"content":{"rendered":"

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

RUSH: We go to the phones. We\u2019re going to start early. Let\u2019s go to Virginia. Jackie, you\u2019re up first, great to have you. First caller Open Line Friday has an awesome responsibility, sets the tone for the rest of the day.CALLER: Rush, I hope I can live up to your expectations.RUSH: I\u2019m sure you can. You already have.CALLER: Congratulations on the 27 years. You deserve all the good wishes from everybody and 27 more years.RUSH: Thank you very much. I appreciate it.CALLER: You\u2019re welcome. I have to tell you one thing. My mother was very sick with liver cancer. She was dying. And I had turned her on to you. So she was listening to the radio, because she couldn\u2019t go out much at all. And my father was outside diddling around outside the house doing something, and she was listening and listening, and I got on and she said, “Oh my gosh!” And I heard her say, “Joe! Joe!” to my dad. “Jackie\u2019s on the radio! Jackie\u2019s on the radio!” This is back in \u201995. She passed away a couple years after that, but that was the thrill of her life.\"\"RUSH: Hearing you on this program.CALLER: She couldn\u2019t believe that I was on the Rush Limbaugh Show.RUSH: Well, you had achieved fame.CALLER: (laughing)<\/p>\n

RUSH: You had achieved some fame. She was immensely proud of you.<\/p>\n

CALLER: I\u2019ll tell you, she was so proud of you for putting me on.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Uh… Well —<\/p>\n

CALLER: (chuckling)<\/p>\n

RUSH: That just happened and it worked out well and at least she got to experience that. I appreciate you telling me that story.<\/p>\n

CALLER: She loved it. She loved it. It was a thrill for her.<\/p>\n

RUSH: So what is the reason that you called?<\/p>\n

CALLER: Well, the other day I tried to get on. Actually, yesterday, because I wanted to tell you that I don\u2019t think that the tormenting by the press of celebrities and sports figures is anything new. I grew up on Long Island. I was a huge Yankees fan during the late \u201950s and early \u201960s, and a friend of mine —<\/p>\n

RUSH: Would you hang on here just a second here, Jackie. For those low-information voters about to punch the button, she\u2019s talking about Tom Brady here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

CALLER: No, I\u2019m not!<\/p>\n

RUSH: Yeah, you are. Yeah, you are.<\/p>\n

CALLER: No, I\u2019m not.<\/p>\n

RUSH: Yeah, you are. We were talking yesterday about how we build these people up and we build them up and we make them the big hero —<\/p>\n

CALLER: Yep.<\/p>\n

RUSH: — and they can\u2019t do anything wrong and then we love it when they fall. I didn\u2019t say it\u2019s new. I said, this is part of Americana.<\/p>\n

CALLER: Well, yeah, but in some instances it is really undeserved.<\/p>\n

RUSH: So is a lot of stuff.<\/p>\n

CALLER: I know.<\/p>\n

RUSH: So is a lot of stuff.<\/p>\n

CALLER: I know.<\/p>\n

RUSH: You said Maris. I know exactly what you\u2019re talking about. Maris, that was 1961, chasing Babe Ruth\u2019s home run record, and he was committing two sins. He was going against Babe Ruth, of course, and then Mickey Mantle was also in the chase. Mantle was beloved and popular, and that\u2019s as much Maris\u2019 problem as Babe Ruth was, was that the Yankee fans thought if anybody is going to do it, it\u2019d have it be The Mickster, Mickey Mantle. So these are… (interruption)<\/p>\n

Snerdley just shouted,. “They ruined Roger Maris\u2019s life.” They made it miserable in a lot of ways. But he ended up with an Anheuser-Busch distributorship. That ain\u2019t bad, especially in the \u201980s. That ain\u2019t bad. When he had one that was the ticket, to be the Budweiser distributor where he lived. I think his family was in Florida, so forth. But we do, folks, it\u2019s just… I don\u2019t care whether they\u2019re Hollywood actors or actresses or sports figures, it is part of Americana.<\/p>\n

We take people. They exhibit talent or ability that none of us could ever do anything but dream of, and then they do it consistently, and they become unique and special, and we create stories around them, and we assume that nothing in their lives is going wrong ever. They\u2019ve got perfect wives. They\u2019ve got perfect kids. They have all the money in the world. They get to go wherever they want to go, whenever, and whenever they go there everybody loves them. It\u2019s perfect!<\/p>\n

And that just can\u2019t last.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not going to let that last. We\u2019ll give them five or six years at that, and then they gotta come down. They have to fall, because the rest of us have to have to at some point get our self-esteem back. We cannot sit here and continue to beat up ourselves and let them tell us how inferior we are compared to them. We have to bring them down so that we feel better about ourselves. And that\u2019s not a criticism. That\u2019s a sociological study. This is what happens. It\u2019s Americana, and she\u2019s right.<\/p>\n

\"\"It\u2019s not unique.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not something new.<\/p>\n

The details of each individual fall from grace are perhaps unique. Brady\u2019s story is different from some others. But it is inescapably Americana. (interruption) What are you frowning at me for? The other day when I made this point, you agreed with me. (interruption) Oh, some people do! (interruption) Are you kidding me? You don\u2019t think there are people relishing in Brady\u2019s fall because it makes them feel better about themselves? You don\u2019t know human nature like I do if you don\u2019t understand that\u2019s part of it. Some people… Hell, yes! Why do you think people fall for raising taxes on the rich when they know it doesn\u2019t help them because it\u2019s punishing them. Makes them feel better. Anyway, thank you, Jackie, for the call.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

END TRANSCRIPT<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Related Links<\/h1>\n