I picked up the paper Tuesday and saw that Rodman's agent said that Dennis was so drunk that he didn't know what the heck he was doing, and that Ms. Electra (or Patrick) "took advantage of him".
Today is Wednesday. Rodman's marriage license is in the paper today, along with assurances from the happy couple that they are "in love" and that the marriage was for real.
Most basketball players rate only a brief mention of their nuptials in the paper, but Dennis Rodman gets three days of coverage?
It's pretty easy to figure out. Ms. Electra (or Patrick) is an "actress" (her term) for some failing TV show that I've never seen and probably never will. Rodman, whose need for attention is almost as strong as a koala bear's need for eucalyptus leaves, has his face out of the public eye right now, what with the NBA being locked out and all. Why shouldn't they help each other get a little publicity?
In fact, who knows what relationship, if any, Rodman and Ms. Electra (or Patrick) really have? Dennis Rodman is a publicity hound, and Ms. Electra (or Patrick) needs a boost in her ratings. They get "married" on Saturday and have two days to launch an all-out publicity blitz, all ready for Monday's papers and tabloid TV shows. Bingo! Their names are both on the lips of the public for three days and counting.
As I get older, I have less patience and more suspicion for this kind of thing, from sports figures or anyone else. I noticed that an unknown actor named Hugh Grant managed to get arrested with a prostitute in his car in broad daylight, and got himself brought to the public's attention - right before his new movie opened. Had you ever heard of Hugh Grant before this happened? I hadn't. You know him now, don't you? Did you go see his movie?
I also see someone named Calista Flockhart on the cover of People magazine denying that she's anorexic. It seems Ms. Flockhart is the star of one of those TV programs that shows how lawyers and doctors are every bit as screwed up as all the rest of us, and the attendant publicity hurricane struck just as her show, the cornerstone of her network's schedule, premiered its new season. Now we're all supposed to watch her show to see if she's losing more weight.
I think Ms. Flockhart should watch out for sidewalk grates as she walks down the street, but that's just my opinion.
At least Hugh Grant and Calista Flockhart had something to promote. Dennis Rodman has nothing except his own juvenile personality to flog the public with, and he's enjoying every minute of it. Why? For the same reason your four year old nephew dives headfirst into the punch bowl at your cousin's wedding - to force everybody to notice him. Most people outgrow this sort of thing, but not Dennis Rodman.
I'm not going to bother reading the paper tomorrow.