The article is about Wayne Hunter and it's not really that interesting (who cares about WFH now that he is gone). However it raises a good question, are a team like the Jets in a disadvantage by being in NY? Because of the brash personalities on this team (Rex, Scott, etc) I feel this team gets much more shit than it should. Most of the times what they say isn't really anything bad, but it gets taken soooo out of context. And this is done on purpose just to sell newspapers/get clicks. Also, the media loves nothing more than immediately build someone up (see Lin and the Knicks) and eventually destroy him if he doesn't mantain that level, and among NY beat reporters this has become an art. A team like the Giants has it much easier because they don't really have any "character" guys (I don't mean carismatic, I mean a guy like Rex) so there isn't really nothing to build shit on. Also I feel like the lack of real outspoken leaders on our team (a guy like Ray Lewis) means the team is even more vulnerable. So all in all, my opinion is the way media people work in NY, more than the fans, is really detrimental to a team with the type of guys like we have... do you guys agree? Ps: I'd like to leave you with this jem... Cimini is such a little bitch in taking stuff so personally. Plus he actually IS the biggest piece of shit so it's not like he should be surprised that someone points it out. Show some class douchebag! Rich Cimini @RichCimini Dear Wayne, hope you like St. Louis. Signed, A Shark. #Jets Hunter to NY fans, media: Good riddance By Rich Cimini | ESPNNewYork.com FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Wayne Hunter loved the Jets, but he could't wait to get away from the fans and media. "They're like sharks," Hunter told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, commenting for the first time since he was traded last week to the Rams. "They let you know (their feelings) right off the bat. And even if you're doing good, they may just not like you for the heck of it. It's brutal over there. Those fans, they know what they want and they pretty much demand it. So if you don't give it to them, they'll let you know." Hunter said he couldn't put into words what it was like to play in New York. "No, I can't," he said. "There's no words to describe it. If you can handle the 'Concrete Jungle,' you can handle anywhere. I've been through it all." Hunter welcomed the change of scenery. "I think it's what I needed," he said. "I think it's what we both needed, from what I heard. It'll be interesting. So I wish him the best, and I'm going to make the best of this opportunity over here. We're going to fill this stadium up." Hunter harbors no animosity toward the Jets. "There's no chip on my shoulder. The New York Jets treated me so well," he said. "I had the best four years over there. We had a great run with two AFC championships. I've got nothing to complain about. I love those guys, I wish 'em the best but it's time for me to move on."
Maybe if he didn't really really suck things wouldn't have been so bad for Wayne. Just a thought. Honestly, I'd think you'd be under a much bigger microscope in Green Bay or Buffalo or somewhere where there is nothing else to but watch the turnips grow and follow the football team.
Maybe you're right but I doubt Green Bay has the sensationalism that goes on in NY. As for the Giants, the press gave the appearance that the fans wanted to run Coughlin and Eli out of town TWICE... both before Super Bowl victories. Now they're future Hall of Famers... Also remember the debacle where Eli agreed with a question asking if he was elite? Michael Kay nearly choked on his rack of lamb and soiled his pants... yet Eli was right.
Of course it's harder..go to a town where there might be only a few writers to cover all sports and they wouldn't even waste their time on a Wayne Hunter but in NY where there are 20 or 30 (or more) writers writing about each sport and having their paycheck depend on being at least as good as everybody else they will write a book full of trivia about anything.
That's the word I was looking for, sensationalism. If you read an article about the Jets it seems like every little thing that happens to this team is either the biggest disaster since World War II or the best the NFL has ever seen in it's history. And you know they do it on purpose just to get a better paycheck... The world has become a worse place since journalists have learned that sensationalism is the best way to get someone's attention. They now have 0 professional ethics.
journalists always knew about sensationalism, they just had more integrity than the schmucks that pretend to be journalists today.
They also know that sensationalism brings out the "partisan" in people causing mass hysteria and people taking sides. Hatred sells unbelievably well, just look at politics.
He's right. The media here is terrible, and some of the fans... well we see it everyday. There's no question he simply was not a good player in pass protection. The blame does go more toward the FO for not bringing a replacement and hyping him in the early off season, but saying he sucks is being honest when we see 4 sacks in a half game. He was a good backup for us in 2010 and was part of our playoff run that took out the Colts & Patriots back to back on the road, he just wasn't that great of a starter and his play seems to have deteriorated. I blame Schotty for not noticing and creating all the animosity between Hunter Holmes and Sanchez. Another big issue from last season has finally been addressed. This is good news. Schotty gone - CHECK Deep threat added - CHECK Wayne Hunter replaced - CHECK Sanchez will take the next step? - It's the last thing that needs to fall into place. We'll see. Those were the big four last season.
New York is by far the most stressful place to play any professional sport. Players know this and that's what they signed up for. Everything is always taken out of context to create stories. I mean look at Spider-man dude saved plenty of lives, yet the press wanted the dude exposed (don't hate it was the only analogy I felt like coming up with at the time). NY News is a bunch of douchebags and it's always been that way.
I lived in the DC area and every little thing related to the Redskins was front page news, even in the offseason. I don't think NY is unique or even the worst place to be a pro athlete.
It makes sense because of sheer numbers. You need controversy to stand out, because people gravitate towards it. If you are in KC, and there is only 2 papers covering the sport, the people don't have much choice. But when you have multiple radio stations, hoards of reports, numerous newspapers, blogs, websites, etc, it's hard not to be a sensationalist. Think of it this way. If you started a website about the Jets, would you do well by just reporting facts and mundane subjects? No, because, no one has a reason to read your website, because every bit of information that you provided was also available on the larger websites. You want controversy. You want subjects that get heated debates. You want polarization. And the proof is on this message board itself. Look at how many replies and views a thread gets about something negative and controversial (like the Ryan and Hill pick thread) rather than just discussing players. I think it applies to all teams, unless there is a built in buffer zone. The Kincks do anything bad, and I'm sure people will chew their heads off. Nets? Islanders? Mets? Jets? Same deal. The Giants used to get killed too, especially Coughlin because of his strict ways holding back the team, but when they won, it went away. I think it has to do more with the nature of how the news is depicted than the amount of coverage it gets. I'm sure something big with the Titans is pretty big news in Nashville too, but it won't go out of it's way to be controversial. News essentially helps us shape our beliefs about players and coaches. And if the news is negative, more and more people are going to form a negative outlook towards the team. It's no surprise that more people hate us this year than last year, even though our team should be better going into this season, because the team was just surrounded by negative coverage, and just snow balled from there. As to answering the question. It has it's ups and downs. All depends on winning. Scott Brousious would just be another ok 3B if he wasn't part of a 3 peat baseball team with clutch moments. Tino Martinez wouldn't be as revered. However, on the downside, Hunter wouldn't be as hated. Jerry Manuel wouldn't be that big of a deal. Omar Minaya wouldn't be the bad guy that he was. You get overly rewarded and unjustly punished in this media, it's just the nature of the coverage now. Mundane stories don't sell. Epic tales of glory or shocking accounts of dysfunction. Everyone as a reader has shown the tendencies to gravitate towards one or the other, and now you are force fed the same thing over and over again.
What about the Nationals, the Capitals, the Wizards? There are only so many writers to go9 around down there..here every team is in focus every day, 365 days a year with dozens of writers looking for an angle.
I'm surprised you don't get more competition from the Ravens as well. Although perhaps I'm off-base here - do they even compete with the Redskins for market share in DC or do they draw from their own geographical base for the most part?
Well said. We, as Jets fans have to embrace the hate. It's not going to be easy, but through thick and thin we have to support this team. As a Yankees fan, I have to endure this hate every year from non-Yankees fans. I can't believe I'm saying this but I think the Jets have (don't compare championship rings) become the Yankees of football. Not in terms of championships, but in terms of polarization. Recently, since the Yankees went on a losing streak, and lost their lead in the AL East, media has been talking shit about them too. If I can handle the anti-Yankee fans, I think I'll be able to handle the Jets haters.
I wonder why Nick Mangold doesn't have the same struggles being a Jet, that Wayne Hunter encounters? What could possibly be the reason?
There no more "what have you done for me lately" then in large markets. People PAY a lot of $$$ an expect top notch from EVER team. Large market teams are ALWAYS under a microscope.
It's been unbearable down in North Carolina with the shit-talking. A lot of people get it from the media what with the QB issue and everything. Had we been in the playoffs last year, this would not have been nearly an issue. Instead, I have to deal with Panthers, Dolphins, and (most humiliating) Redskin fans talking shit. I also share the opinion that if Rex was a fairly boring guy, we wouldn't be getting this much coverage. As it stands, it is what it is. Hopefully we can prove it on the field on Sunday that we are in the playoff race.
