Ok, maybe that’s a bit too harsh, but that was my immediate reaction to John Keister pimping Renton during the Seahawks’ game on Saturday. It was a good ad, especially for people who actually remember almost ten years ago when Almost Live! was making fun of Renton.
People who’ve moved here since 2000 probably have no idea who John Keister is or why making fun of Renton still might be fun.
The one reason why I’d say Keister was totally selling out was that the content of the ad really gave no reason why Renton is ahead of the curve. Most of the ad could have been stock footage of any “I want to be a great suburb” town: kids playing with soccer balls, a pool.
The two concrete reasons, The Landing and the new Seahawks headquarters, are still future projects. The images of the Boeing plant, well that hearkens back to the blue collar residents that Keister and gang were actually making fun of.
Ok, everyone has to make money and if Keister feels like cashing in on Almost Live!, more power to him. But, this puts even more distance between reality and Almost Live! ever coming back.
Oh, happy memories. To me, Almost Live WAS sketch comedy because I found it long before I found Saturday Night Live. The Science Guy will always be Speed Walker to me, and God do I ever miss the lame list.