Jumping the shark.
In September of 1977, Happy Days was in its fifth season. The show’s ratings were slumping and in an effort to boost ratings, the writers decided to demonstrate modern special effects and the magic of television by having the show’s star, Fonzie, jump over a shark. While waterskiing.
When Fonzie jumped the shark, some fans inherently recognized: they’d gone too far.
Likewise, rather than fading into Telluride legend -- a cautionary tale of what can happen when you involve yourself with someone else’s girlfriend – the local epic of a guerilla revenge tactic has, for me, jumped the shark.
Inside gondola cabins, on lift towers, in bathroom stalls, on stop signs, inside foosball tables, on magazine racks, in residential medicine cabinets; you can’t swing a ski pole in this town without hitting an Eric Corff sticker in the ellipsis.
Now, years after the first sightings, one has to ask: is there a statute of limitations on douchebaggery? At what point does the revenge of an act of ‘baggery out bag the original bagging? Are the marketing geniuses behind this whisper campaign available for hire?
Unlikely. Professionals would have moved on, at this point, to something fresh and possibly more damaging: “Eric Corff shops at Walmart” or “Eric Corff…he’d rather be riding your girlfriend.”
Meanwhile, tourists are confused. Some assume Corff is an elected official, which doesn’t say much for douche bags or politicians. Google the cringe-inducing phrase and you’ll find YouTube videos, sightings from as far away as Austin and Buffalo, NY and a spattering of postings from non-locals desperate for an explanation. Who is Eric Corff!?
Just like Happy Days and the Facebook Fan Page for Stickers, this Corff hater-ation has jumped the shark. It’s traveled from never being that funny to old news and embarrassing litter. Above all, it’s really mean and petty for an otherwise really nice and unaffected community.
I don’t care if Eric Corff is or isn’t a douche bag; I’m taking these stickers down when I see them, the same way I pick up trash when I come across it.
On the other hand, maybe I could cash in with “Eric Corff…is he really a douche bag?” Segway Tours.
