Norman Chad Trolls Away

"Got ya!" (Cardplayer.com)

I think the first time I read Norman Chad was in the long-gone National Sports Daily.

So, just a primer, the guy has been around over 30 years.

Mostly, he had disappeared from my radar, and that was due to his getting involved with things like the World Series of Poker. It's just something I don't watch normally.

He has continued to write a weekly column called Couch Slouch and, boy, did he rise from "obscurity" yesterday.

I glanced at Twitter while enjoying some rare normalcy on Mother's Day and saw Chad was trending.

The computer of my brain began to search for relevancy as my phone rolled through the data to pull up why Mr. Chad was being talked about.

Chad's piece was under the headline: "The pandemic has reminded us: We don’t need more sports in our lives — we need less" (Washington Post)

I read it and rolled my eyes. I might have also chuckled.

It was idiotic, of course. That was the idea.

It was, also, as Alex Reimers writes in Forbes, satire.

One might -- call me crazy -- actually read the story and not just the headline.

Which, I guarantee, the Twitter mob crowd (most of whom have never heard of Chad and let's leave why out of this) did not do.

And, even more, the joke is on all of you telling Chad to "be better" or whatever.

- His net worth is quite comfortable, let's just put it that way, as he is a well-regarded nationally syndicated columnist for some 30 years. But that aside...
- YOU CLICKED ON THE ARTICLE. As such, by clicking, retweeting, and getting it to trend, you got ME to read the article.

And, now, I'm laughing at all of you, regardless of how foolish Chad's column is.

Continue to beg on Twitter for people to notice you. Keep focusing on things that attract flies. You have a long way to go, Grasshopper.

Norman Chad is trending. He's now relevant. The post is receiving crazy clicks. That attracts advertisers and puts more money in Norman Chad's pocket.

He got you and you fell for it.

Advantage: Chad.

Here endeth the lesson.

*****
OK, 30-Day Song Challenge people, this one will be rough.

It's a rainy, cold, dreary day in New York and I've just written about Norman Chad (and, I suppose, me) schooling folks. I'm in a good mood and laughing. Yet...

Day: 10: A song that makes you sad.

Let's start with the entire Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely album. "Moonlight Serenade" leaves me in an absolute puddle because of the memory of my dad (it was among his favorite songs).

But, for pure sadness, there's Gilbert O'Sullivan and "Alone Again (Naturally)."

"I remember I cried when my father died, never wishing to hide the tears..."

Goddammit, I'm struggling to even type those words. And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to laughing at the outrage towards Norman Chad.