http://www.today.com/popculture/simpsons-has-lost-its-cool-wbna3341530

USA TODAY from the year 2000

After more than a decade of revolutionary television, “The Simpsons” — a show that redefined television for a generation of viewers and is arguably as influential as “I Love Lucy” or “Star Trek — seems to be gathering momentum on a downhill roll toward mediocrity. When the mighty fall, they fall mightily.

New York Times 2001

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/04/magazine/homer-s-odyssey.html

Elsewhere on the Web, especially among the diehard ''Simpsons'' fans who bicker in chat rooms devoted to the show, the attitude has been less sanguine. Seasons 9 and 11 were singled out as evidence of the show's inevitable decline, and Mike Scully, who has run the show for the past four years, was ritually abused as the man who corrupted Springfield. Rumors of the show's demise proliferated. But the show was clearly not ready to die; new writers were hired, and ratings began climbing. This show is now in such strong shape that a long-contemplated movie may finally be in the works.

1999 op-ed from the harvard Crimson about the Simpsons golden age

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1999/10/6/twilight-of-the-simpsons-ppeople-have/

BBC NEWS 2002 "IS IT TIME TO END THE SHOW?"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/1961554.stm

This is becoming such a meme

If that's the case then it was a meme 15 years ago.

fiddle with the "custom range" feature on google to find older results (e.g. "only show me articles from before 2007")