sure, we here in the states may obsess over “reality” tv, but it’s never been this bad. celebrity big brother in the uk has spawned a huge controversy over alleged racism in the show:

More than 27,000 viewers have complained to Ofcom about the show, three times the previous record set by Jerry Springer - The Opera.

whoa, whoa. wait a second. first his security guard gets his own show, and now springer has his own opera? wow, we really are spreading the wings of democracy.

anyway, the complaints have gotten so bad that people in india are (supposedly) up in arms, protesting on the streets:

The show has also caused ructions in India, where a junior minister said the Government might make representations to Britain and demostrators [sic] burnt effigies of the show’s organisers.

if true, the source of the alleged racist remarks can do nothing but harm all parties. and even if it was somehow a staged event by the producers or the broadcaster, one sponsor has already pulled out, and there’s no way the offending celebrities will be able to continue their current careers, win or lose.

well, that was unfortunate.

can’t say that it was a surprise, though, since it seemed the majority of ohioans assumed the national championship was a sure thing. I had a feeling florida was going to put up a fight, but I thought that would mean a close 1st half, with the buckeyes wearing them down in the end, a la michigan.

turns out the team just couldn’t pull itself together after ginn went down. the o-line especially seemed to be completely bewildered. we’d all heard the rumors of how the gators had speed at all positions; that urban meyer had a playbook thicker than harry potter and the reading of war and peace. I guess the buckeyes hadn’t heard the same things, because they looked completely unprepared.

after last night, I doubt ohio state should even be #2. the only other team that looked nearly as convincing as florida did last night? usc. sure, lsu pounded notre dame, but that’s not saying a whole lot.

that makes it 5 big ten teams that have lost their bowls: ohio state, michigan, iowa, minnesota, and purdue… only wisconsin and penn state survived. what a sad start to 2007.