Silly Season Stories are emanating from “a time of year, usually in midsummer or during a holiday period, characterized by exaggerated news stories, frivolous entertainments, outlandish publicity stunts, etc.,” according to the dictionary. reference Website.
Silly Season Stories usually occurred in August. This was a time when there was a discernable “News Hole” in newsworthy stories.
However, the autumn of 2009 certainly sets a new record for innumerable silly Season Stories. Witness: Michael Jackson’s glove selling for $350,000; public enemy number one John Dillinger’s blood-stained dollar bill, the last in his wallet when the was gunned down, selling for nearly $20,000 at a public auction; and finally the sports icon Tiger Woods unraveling publically and hanging up his golf clubs in order restore his marriage after innumerable “transgressions” (a.k.a. “infidelities.”)
These are but a few of Silly Season Stories. I won’t even touch the political arena, where we have vaudeville-style performers like Sarah Palin’s runaway bestseller, Going Rogue, topping the charts.
Sixty years ago it was Flying Saucers invading the skies. Today our Silly Season Stories have branched out to new levels of banality.
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I totally agree. Especially the Tiger Woods scandal, this whole carnival of events has all but totally taken over the newswaves. It seems like every day some other woman comes out and admits to having an affair with him. This was only exacerbated by the fact that he was named "Player of the Decade" by the PGA. How many connotations could be made from that? It's hilarious. Not only has he ruined his squeaky-clean image, he's broken the hearts of many people whom he was their idol. This is certainly as far away from seeing a flying saucer or a UFO in the sky as you can get. But to some people, it's even more shocking than seeing one of those would be? Tiger Woods having an affair? Come on.
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