Make no mistake about it. The NY Jets are routinely derided, despised and yes, hated, by a big part of the media and many NFL fans. Examples are too numerous for comfort: Just before the beginning of the season, experts decided that the Jets deserved the last spot in their power rankings (we'll see about that); on the Sunday of Week 1 another panel of experts on one of the proliferating morning football shows unanimously pronounced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to be sure winners (they lost). Or think about Tim Tebow. Moral opprobrium was heaped upon the Jets in prodigious quantities for letting down and derailing the career of the finest America has to offer. There was simply no end in negative stories about this episode; and then Tebow signs with the New England Patriots and is cut after failing to make the 53 man roster. And what happens? Nothing! The Patriots get a pass, turns out Tebow simply cannot throw. If there is one example of media bias against the Jets, this is it. But the question remains, why do they hate the Jets so much? Here are the three major reasons. 1) The Jets Face the NY Media Market. New York is the largest media market in the country and every single media outlet that counts at the very least has an office here. Operating essentially on a 24/7 news cycle, it is simply more convenient and easier to cover the Jets; and keep in mind that very many people sincerely care about the Jets, a team with probably a few million of supporters (the official New York Jets page on Facebook had at last count 1,505,866 likes). Now this could have been a symbiotic relationship creating a virtuous circle of good reporting. It hasn't. The complication is that most in the media have figured out that starting a controversy about the Jets is far likelier to produce attention and bring traffic to their work. Manish Mehta, the Daily News beat writer for the Jets provides a case in point. Now I am not saying that he is not competent or conscientious or scrupulous (though Roger Angell he ain't). The point is that when he called for Rex Ryan's firing it was no less than Chris Christie, the Governor of New Jersey who responded (or took the bait) calling him among other things "a dope." So here it is how it works: you attack the NY Jets and possibly the next leader of the free world deals with you. Certainly not a pleasant experience but the moral of the story is that Jets baiting guarantees extensive, wide controversy and publicity even (or especially) for beat writers; and when it comes to journalism that is a net plus. 2) The Jets Are Iconoclastic. It possibly goes back to Broadway Joe and the mythology that put this team on the map. But the Jets have never been boring, have even flirted with the counter-culture and have been willing to break or bend some rules. In many ways, Rex Ryan embodies this tradition. No ordinary NFL coach he: think of HBO's Hard Knocks, his tattoo, running the bulls etc -- well the list is long. But many want the NFL to be a conservative continuity without anyone rocking the boat. Many do not appreciate the fun ethos of the Jets; and many downright despise such attitude. Hatred ensues. 3) Envy. The Jets have not won a Super Bowl since 1969, why should fans be jealous of them? Well, that is precisely the point. Perennial underdogs, with no celebratory confetti in decades, the Jets dominate attention, command headlines and quite often cause a national discussion. Supporters of teams whom they consider more worthy become green with envy. If only their teams were as interesting; if only more people cared about them. But they don't. It is the Jets that get the attention, it is the Jets that have the multitudes of passionate followers. Their response is predictable, if unfortunate: they end up hating them Jets. Hatred and bias against the Jets will not go away anytime soon. The best way to deal with them is for the Jets to finally win another Super Bowl, thus allowing feelings of envy to have a firm basis in reality. Dr Aristotle Tziampiris is Visiting Fellow at New York University's Remarque Institute
Good article. As I stated in the comments section, I think he hit on the points that heap negativity on the team. The anti-NFL Rex is probably catapulting that feeling among opposing teams fans. But I'm ok with that. The New York Jets - Repping' the team you hate.
that or they are the second team in the largest city and have run the show like a circus for the past 4 or 5 years. until now, and these guys dont know what to do at this point. it will quiet down, give it a year or two.
I think the author missed a huge point: REX RYAN. You can't ignore the fact that the guy burst onto the scene with grandiose predictions and a brash attitude. The collective media scum were licking their chops waiting for this guy to fail. It must have been tough those first two years with runs to the AFC Championship game. But now that there has been dissension (Holmes last year, Petine), embarrassment (butt-fumble), controversy (Tebow, Sanchez getting injured in the preseason) and bizarre (foot fetish videos, Sanchez tattoo, sideways press conferences), the media has gnashed their teeth and are attacking.
Google's most searched word definition for the past hour from users in the tri-state area is now "opprobrium."
I finally realized why Christie came to Rex's defense by calling Mehta "an idiot". After all, Christie's a Cowboys fan, not a Jets fan. Lap-band camaraderie! Rex blazed a trail for him, which could lead to the Presidency.
Nice article, You have to be passionate to be a Jets fan, we mostly have an us vs the world mentally. Other teams wish they had our fan base.
Jets are a team that didn't make the playoffs the last 2 years. Jets are a team that hasn't won championship for the last 40 something years. Yet, Jets are the most talked about franchise in New York Metro Area for the last 4 years. Such that, superbowl winning Eli manning admitted being the third most talked about QB in NY after winning the Superbowl. Jets are a magnet Love or hate. Pulls the lovers, pushes the haters but Jets are there. And I love the Jets for that. I love the misery of not winning. I love the loneliness of my Gang Green. I love the fans. Jets are royal in a sense. Not every fan can endure the pain of being a Jet fan. Jets are the Jets J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS Enough said Fuck the haters.
Well let's be realistic here. The fourth paragraph is ridiculous. Every NFL team gets plenty of media exposure. I doubt any successful team is "jealous" of the media bashing the undeserving of attention Jets are getting. As posted earlier it is being in NY with an outgoing, polarizing coach. Winning or losing is irrelevant; it is the outlier events that make the news (butt fumble, toe licking, weight gain/loss, shooting self in thigh, etc.) it was the same when they were in the AFC Championship. When you have over 1,000,000 people interested in an event, you're going to find something to write about because it's an easy sell.
It's all a pile of government sponsored shite, no matter what side of the political fence you sit on.
