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One of the most vicious, and possibly funny, pictures I’ve ever seen took place when I initially transferred to New York in the early 1990s, ready to start what would be an almost 15-year profession of covering the NFL there. The picture was an explanatory minute, one that matters now, as it appears Aaron Rodgers is on a course to sign up with the Jets and go into a savage media universe
Ray Handley had actually changed Bill Parcells as head coach of the Giants. Handley’s period was a straight-out catastrophe and among the reasons was due to the fact that Handley had no hint how to handle the New York media. Parcells both frightened and charmed the media; Handley was terrified by it.
At one point, Handley canceled his press conference on the very same day it was revealed that quarterback Phil Simms required elbow surgical treatment. Handley made this choice after more than 4 lots members of the media appeared.
In reaction to Handley’s mishandling the minute, one New York tabloid released a photo of Handley’s empty chair. Another did something that was so excessive I still remember it to this day. It ran a photo of Handley’s face, with a gas gauge on his forehead, and the needle on the gauge was on empty.
“In regards to the media, I think it was just an unknown,” Handley stated then. “Most of the other things with regards to the job, I felt like I knew what to expect. But dealing with the media on an everyday basis was an unknown for me. I don’t know if it’s that difficult, but it’s more time-consuming than I had anticipated when I took the job.”
The New York media was Twitter prior to Twitter. Almost maniacal in you-got-owned culture prior to it would end up being more popular years later on. Think of memes however rather of on your phone, it’s on the back page.
That hasn’t altered because Handley which is what Rodgers, skin as thick as one-ply, may be strolling into.
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I’ve covered the NFL in Dallas, Boston, and Washington, and there are certainly other difficult markets like Chicago, however New York, to me, is the hardest due to the fact that of the large variety of individuals that cover the groups and the total aggressiveness of the press reporters.
The criticism Rodgers has actually dealt with throughout the years in Green Bay isn’t even in the very same universe of what might occur in New York. The beat authors in Green Bay are hardworking and wise. They are likewise conventional media sources. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel isn’t going to put Rodgers on its cover with an empty gas can for a head (regrettably).
The NFL authors in New York are likewise very thorough and proficient at their tasks. They will be reasonable to Rodgers. The issue will come when things fail — and they will.
Some gamers in New York end up being tremendously troubled by the unfavorable protection, others do not care. Rodgers is infamously thin-skinned. His skin has the consistency of a cell membrane. It’s not even questionable to state this. It’s a popular truth. He’s a queen, deflects blame and holds animosities. He has animosities that return to the Pleistocene Age. One moderate piece of criticism, one cross word, something that he thinks about disloyal, and you’re on his list, which list stretches from Green Bay to Alpha Centauri.
There was less of a cost to spend for that habits in Green Bay, however if he acts that method New York, he will get definitely wiped out by the media.
If Rodgers had actually depended on New York about getting immunized the method he did to the Green Bay media, it would have sustained some biting headings on the back (and front) pages.
The authors in New York can be scathing however they are just part of the issue perhaps dealing with Rodgers. The authors do not create those back pages and I’m here to inform you those pages can be definitely unrelenting. While the power of print papers has actually subsided in New York (and all over else), they are still often an exceptional sight to witness, and still have some power.
And when those pages target Rodgers — and they will — it will irritate the quarterback.
One of the other excellent examples of New York tabloid-ism (and there are numerous) was when the New York Daily News and New York Post, after a video game where Tom Brady grumbled about the officiating, both put Brady’s face on the body of a child. The Daily News heading was “CRYBRADY.” The infant was using diapers with the Patriots logo design on it and had chest hair.
This is the very same environment, after all, that produced the best heading in the history of papers. In the 1980s, when a beheaded body was discovered in a bar, the Post heading read: “HEADLESS BODY IN TOPLESS BAR.” Chef’s kiss.
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If Rodgers does go to the Jets, on the field, he will succeed. I would not be shocked if he took the group to the playoffs in his very first season. The Jets have some considerable skill on that lineup and an extremely smart and resourceful head coach in Robert Saleh.
But there’s no concern that Rodgers will likewise be polarizing because locker space. It’s who he is. He’s among these individuals who naturally, with little effort, develops gorges in those areas.
There was a disastrous Bleacher Report story in 2019 that revealed simply how dreadful Rodgers can be. Rodgers rejected the precision of the story, however I thought every word of it. Anyone who understands Rodgers even a little understands he can be precisely that method.
The Jets, if Rodgers goes there, will see that side of him. It’s a lock and when they do, those stories will leakage out, and get reported on, and the celebration will start.
The New York tabloid celebration.
This post initially appeared on U.S.A. TODAY: If Aaron Rodgers goes to the Jets, New York media will have field day
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