The Red Sox are Disbanded!

Did you hear the news?  The owner of the franchise felt our society was changing and people just weren't interested in this kind of genre anymore.  What people?  Well, anyone over the age of 45, of course! 

You see, it's just too expensive to keep the Red Sox franchise running, especially if it cuts into any kind of profits of those who own them.  Despite great ratings, merchandise sales, and sold out events, the franchise is not interested in your demographics anymore so the whole franchise, established in 1901, is finished, no questions asked.  Sorry fans 45 and older, but it seems no one is interested in your opinions anymore. 

But guess what?  You can look forward to a replacement team of savvy and sassy young and hip wanna-be athletes who will inform you of today's current trends, fresh and popular recipes from those who know better than anyone over 45, and oh goody, celebrity gossip!  I bet you can't wait!

What's that you say?  How can they do this?  You have been a Red Sox fan since you were a child, a family tradition passed down from your grandfather and father?  You've supported the franchise through purchasing tickets, traveling to games, buying attire and merchandise with the Red Sox logo?  And no one asked you how you felt about this?   

Of course this isn't really happening, well not in the sports world anyway.  But this very thing is happening to a genre that has been around since 1930 - the soap opera. Starting out on radio, soap operas easily transitioned to TV, the first one airing as far back as 1946.  So needless to say, the millions of people, men and women of various ages and backgrounds, who have been faithful viewers of this particular genre, have been blindsided by the news that two popular shows, All My Children and One Life to Live, have been canceled by ABC.  Not because of low ratings, not because there is no fan base, but simply because ABC feels that daytime dramas are not worth the expense of producing for a demographic they are not interested in entertaining, anyone over the age of 45.  This is not to say younger viewers are not tuning in, though.  As with sports fans, soap opera fans are usually created by their parents, with a love for their history handed down through the generations like a priceless antique.  I am a middle generation fan myself - I developed a love for the genre because of my mother and my youngest daughter became a fan because of me - and she is of the age that fits into the demographic that ABC wants to cater to.  So how can any of this make sense when the interest is still there but our voices are not being heard?  How can the very audience that can make or break a show and a network's placement in the rating's war begin to make million dollar executives understand that what they have done is careless?  They have just contributed to the American unemployment rate as thousands of employees are going to become displaced.  Not just on the shows themselves, but in products, magazines, tourism, etc. 

Well, it begins with the simple process of boycotting and protests.  I haven't watched anything on ABC other than my soap operas.  Then I quickly change the channel to avoid anything ABC thinks I should enjoy.  I figure I'm too old for ABC viewership anyway, so why bother giving them my primetime attention?  NBC, you're looking better and better every evening!  Just as ESPN enjoys higher viewership since they took on Monday Night Football, from what network?  Oh yeah, ABC!!!