People Magazine: Jenner "transitioning into a woman"

Am I the only person in this country who doesn't care about Bruce Jenner?
Is there any reason why I should care?

 

She might be able to hook you up with a stepdaughter and a new car?

 

Why do I need a stepdaughter?

 

At one time he was the most famous athlete in America or was one of the three most famous athletes in America.

It's sad that his life is now a sideshow. He's the athletic version of Michael Jackson.

 

I get that in the summer of 1976 he was the most famous athlete in America.

But being the Olympics, that was a two-week period, after which he basically had zero relevance. These days it seems you almost have "career Olympians" (Phelps, Lolo Jones, etc.).

But at least Jackson's arc crossed a couple of generations. He was relevant for more than two decades. Jenner? Two weeks.

 

Was Jenner in the spotlight at all for 30 years from the time he was doing some acting until he popped up again on TV as the husband of the widow of O.J. Simpson's accomplice?

 

Didn't he do a guest spot on The Love Boat?

 

If he didn't have anything to do with the Kardashians, his interview would have rated a day of coverage on ESPN, and that would depend on if anything else was going on with Tebow, Favre, or LeBron. Instead, because of his family, it's a two-hour prime time network special.

 

See, I think that it might have been even bigger among sports media and fans if he hadn't married the widow of O.J. Simpson's accomplice.

I think the Kardashian freak show has caused sports fans to kind of abandon him as one of theirs long ago.

 

I would guess that most fans of the Kardashians could give two shits about Bruce Jenner.

The interview drew 16 million plus viewers because it was Bruce Jenner -- who anyone my age or older thinks of as an athletic icon -- because it's a compelling issue/story, because ABC hyped it to death, and because there was very little competition up against it.

And, like some other live events* now, it draws viewers because people know it will be discussed among their friends on facebook and twitter, and at the office, and they want to know what happened.

People watch the Super Bowl, the Oscars and more because they want to follow, and weigh in on, the conversation in real time.

* I know this wasn't a "live" interview, but if you wanted to follow the story develop in real time across social media, you had to watch it as it aired, and not later on your DVR.

 

He and his story are relevant because of his transition from a man to woman. That's not exactly usual, is it?

The transgender lifestyle is relatively rare, very complex, complicated and difficult to grasp, let alone accept -- and I mean, REALLY accept, as normal.

For the sake of humanity and care and compassion toward other human beings, it would seem important to try to broach and understand. This is important not because he's Bruce Jenner (although that fact gives this topic more of a recognizable "face" and more widespread interest). He is important because his topic is important but not really relatable to most people. This is all an attempt to make it more relatable.

The attitude of pretending not to care about Bruce Jenner is disingenuous if you've even read through this thread. I don't "care about" Bruce Jenner in the same way I care about people like family who may be closer to me, either. But I care about and am interested in what's going on with him nonetheless. Most people who pretend otherwise are probably not being honest.

 

Like I said. No Kardashian links, and it's a former athletic icon making news. If it's the Bruce Jenner we know from the 70s, it's ESPN coverage, plus a spot or two on the nightly news.

But because it's Kardashian-related, it's suddenly this "stop the presses", Twitter blows up thing.