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Guest Column: Norv Turner's "Notes on Camp" - Day 2

Back again, ruminating on Chargers Training Camp 2011 as illuminated by Sontag's immortal essay...

Yesterday, I promised that I would reveal my plan for resolving the stadium situation, now that Uncle Sam has closed the Velcro tab on his tacky little wallet. It's not a particularly subtle solution, but bold simplicity has its virtues, especially when attacking the Gordian knot that binds government and private enterprise.

Interestingly, it was a government figure who provided the inspiration for my inspiration, who served as the Muse to my musings, if you'll pardon the expression (and I think you will). President Calvin Coolidge famously quipped that "the business of America is business," and it was that double deployment that gave the the idea of bringing in a corporate partner for San Diego's NFL franchise. Not someone to name the stadium or the halftime show - someone to actually put their logo on the side of the helmet. The solution was almost too easy: The San Diego Dodge Chargers.

Hear me out. We want team mascots to be powerful. How does 465 horsepower grab you? We want team mascots to be evocative - what red-blooded football fan doesn't smile at the sight of an American muscle car? And at a time when American manufacturing is seen as crucial to the restoration of our faltering economy, who wouldn't feel good about rooting for a team linked to a company that the American government couldn't bear to see disappear? And think of the mascot!

The company, of course, could begin marketing a special "Charger blue" edition, complete with lightning bolts stenciled over the wheel wells. A guaranteed seller. All it would cost them is a one-time fee to help build a stadium worthy of their brand. Everybody wins.

And how, you ask, does all this relate to the Sontag essay? I will note her concluding line - "The ultimate Camp statement: it's good because it's awful" - and let the reader judge whether or not my idea fits this particular bill.

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Didja know I did the first American feature on Jimi Hendrix?

Richard Meltzer goes through the Germs, Blue Oyster Cult, Ray Charles, Elvis, Lavender Hill Mob

Back again, ruminating on Chargers Training Camp 2011 as illuminated by Sontag's immortal essay...

Yesterday, I promised that I would reveal my plan for resolving the stadium situation, now that Uncle Sam has closed the Velcro tab on his tacky little wallet. It's not a particularly subtle solution, but bold simplicity has its virtues, especially when attacking the Gordian knot that binds government and private enterprise.

Interestingly, it was a government figure who provided the inspiration for my inspiration, who served as the Muse to my musings, if you'll pardon the expression (and I think you will). President Calvin Coolidge famously quipped that "the business of America is business," and it was that double deployment that gave the the idea of bringing in a corporate partner for San Diego's NFL franchise. Not someone to name the stadium or the halftime show - someone to actually put their logo on the side of the helmet. The solution was almost too easy: The San Diego Dodge Chargers.

Hear me out. We want team mascots to be powerful. How does 465 horsepower grab you? We want team mascots to be evocative - what red-blooded football fan doesn't smile at the sight of an American muscle car? And at a time when American manufacturing is seen as crucial to the restoration of our faltering economy, who wouldn't feel good about rooting for a team linked to a company that the American government couldn't bear to see disappear? And think of the mascot!

The company, of course, could begin marketing a special "Charger blue" edition, complete with lightning bolts stenciled over the wheel wells. A guaranteed seller. All it would cost them is a one-time fee to help build a stadium worthy of their brand. Everybody wins.

And how, you ask, does all this relate to the Sontag essay? I will note her concluding line - "The ultimate Camp statement: it's good because it's awful" - and let the reader judge whether or not my idea fits this particular bill.

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