Sickness and American Idol

I have been sick today. The flu takes its toll and you spend the day coughing and sneezing and wheezing. Tomorrow I go to the doctor (at Joanie's insistence) to get a flu shot and something to try and knock this out.
The result of all of this is that you spend the day napping and watching TV. Tonight, Joanie and I are watching American Idol. I don't always watch the final competition of this show, though I think the tryouts are a scream. Tonight they are down to 10 contestants and we've watched the first 3-4 performers and all I can ask is, "Why?". Why is this show so popular and so addicting? There are blogs, websites, and weekday fans that swear by it - watercooler talk that goes on in almost every office. And I am trying to figure out, "Why?" I have a few reasons that have come to me but I warn you, I have the flu and may not make sense.

1. The American Dream - We love to watch those who go from rags to riches, from obscurity to fame. The only thing we like more is to watch them fall. How sad. I think the best show on television today is Extreme Home Makeover Home Edition because it is rags to riches story based not on talent and some hyped up call-in format but is based on the sacrificial giving of families who care for others or who have special needs. TV is never better than when it helps others rather than tear others down. Queen for A Day had it all over The Gong Show because it lifted people up. So does Extreme Home Makeover - it has it all over Simon Cowell.
2. Drama - My son, Jonathan, and I watched this show together one night at his apartment in Indiana. I enjoyed spending time with him. We got to discuss who we liked and argue about who should be voted off and who should be kept around. It was fun - and it had a sense of drama. We live in a time when we love to watch drama. I don't mean we like to watch dramas on TV, the movies, or on the stage. We love to watch drama in real life. In the church we often make a sport out of watching drama take place. The greater the drama the greater the spotlight. We like to watch drama in other people's lives, I think, because it allows us the opportunity to be distracted from the drama in our own lives.
3. Performance Under Pressure - I love sports in part because it is performance under pressure. Last second shots during the NCAA tournament, the last chance at bat during the World Series, the final drive at the Super Bowl - performance under pressure. I think we judge these Idol contestants on whether they can perform under pressure. That may be the most important draw of the show. After all, we all know what it is like to have to perform under pressure whether it is at work, on a test at school, on a date with someone we want to impress, or during a worship service solo or choir number or sermon. The problem is that our lives are not always judged by one moment under pressure. Or, at least, they shouldn't. I've missed my share of foul shots, incomplete passes, flunked tests, and poor sermons. One of the nice things about preaching is that you get another chance in a week. Maybe we should remember that about life.

But I could be wrong. I have the flu.