Man, oh, man, what a weekend for sadists. If watching a bloated cultural institution run aground in front of millions of viewers -- thus squandering its talent and goodwill before finally collapsing beneath the weight of ego, misjudgment, bad decisions and competitive pressure -- is your idea of a riotous spectacle, you were in all kinds of luck. But enough about How Do You Know.
The New York Giants' implosion at home Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles -- turning a 31-10 lead with 8:17 to play into a soul-crushing 38-31 defeat by their divisional archrivals -- was another disaster of Hindenberg-esque proportions, that not-so-sweet spot where performance and high expectations fold over on themselves to become something else entirely. Complacency? Hubris? Farce? Some suffocating blend of all three? We'll have all week to digest, assuming we can hold this rancid taste down.
But again, life does not revolve around the gridiron. Another team with championship pedigree and nine-figure resources went down in flames this weekend at the box office: How Do You Know, that $120 million testament to Old Hollywood aloofness. James L. Brooks's latest took a beating among critics and was finally euthanized by audiences, who gave up a mere $7.6 million for the privilege of seeing Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson putter through the romcom motions. I don't know who the Michael Vick is this equation, or the Eli Manning, or the DeSean Jackson, or the Andy Reid, but I do know that more than a few Sony execs have hungover Monday mornings in common with Giants fans right about now.
Who has it worse, though? I mean, these are some pretty astonishing flame-outs, but what's that old saw about what you do after you get knocked down? It's getting up that counts? Something like that. So look at it this way: The Giants go to Green Bay next week and face the Packers in a game with huge playoff implications. Sony has to spend the next month defending its Tourist and Burlesque Golden Globe nominations and getting audiences ready for next month's... The Green Hornet. Who's got the bigger challenge? And who's better prepared for it? No, really -- I'm asking.