One of the most vicious, and possibly humorous, pictures I’ve ever seen occurred when I veryfirst moved to New York in the early 1990s, about to start what would be a almost 15-year profession of covering the NFL there. The picture was an useful minute, one that is pertinent now, as it appears Aaron Rodgers is on a course to signupwith the Jets and getin a savage media universe
Ray Handley had changed Bill Parcells as head coach of the Giants. Handley’s period was an straight-out catastrophe and one of the factors why was since Handley had no hint how to offer with the New York media. Parcells both frightened and charmed the media; Handley was frightened by it.
At one point, Handley canceled his news conference on the exactsame day it was revealed that quarterback Phil Simms required elbow surgicaltreatment. Handley made this choice after more than 4 lots members of the media revealed up.
In reaction to Handley’s mishandling the minute, one New York tabloid released a image of Handley’s empty chair. Another did something that was so excessive I still keepinmind 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 relatesto to the media, I believe it was simply an unidentified,” Handley stated then. “Most of the other things with relatesto to the task, I felt like I understood what to anticipate. But dealing with the media on an daily basis was an unidentified for me. I wear’t understand if it’s that tough, however it’s more lengthy than I had preparedfor when I took the task.”
The New York media was Twitter priorto Twitter. Almost maniacal in you-got-owned culture priorto it would endupbeing more popular years lateron. Think of memes however rather of on your phone, it’s on the back page.
That hasn’t altered giventhat Handley and that is what Rodgers, skin as thick as one-ply, may be strolling into.
WHAT IS HAPPENING AT NFL NETWORK: Lawsuits, a troublesome star, a harsh battle
DOLPHINS: Pick up Tagovailoa’s fifth-year choice in vote of self-confidence for QB
I’ve covered the NFL in Dallas, Boston, and Washington, and there are absolutely other hard markets like Chicago, however New York, to me, is the mostdifficult since of the sheer number of individuals that cover the groups and the general aggressiveness of the pressreporters.
The criticism Rodgers hasactually dealtwith over the years in Green Bay isn’t even in the exactsame 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 (unfortunately).
The NFL authors in New York are likewise incredibly thorough and great at their tasks. They will be reasonable to Rodgers. The issue will come when things go incorrect — and they will.
Some gamers in New York endedupbeing tremendously troubled by the unfavorable protection, others wear’t 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 widelyknown reality. He’s a queen, deflects blame and holds grudges. He has grudges that go back to the Pleistocene Age. One moderate piece of crit