monkey's rant part dux

I read the responses to my first rant, some which seemed to agree and others which disagreed. But I just simply had to make some points regarding the responses I got which either disagreed or that said I was making too big of an issue out of it.

First off, I think that you guys misunderstand the overall importance of media coverage. You guys can say, "I would rather be the underdogs and sneak up on people" or "who really cares what the national media says anyway" all you want, and I truly understand where you are coming from. Problem is, you guys are really missing just what national media coverage brings to a team.

Underdogs and Cinderella stories are terrific, it's always fun to be David slaying Goliath, but the fact of the matter is, Goliath wins that matchup 99 times out of 100 and Cinderella is a fairy tale.
National exposure brings several things to a team that you guys seem to be overlooking; firstly, national recognition brings respect, and a fear, to those teams we face.
Back in the day when there were dynasties, before parity, there were teams who got all kinds of national exposure, who honestly had the game won before they even stepped out onto the field. The other teams didn't really believe that they had a chance against them, and so for them the battle was already lost.
The mental game is just as important as the physical game, and when teams line up against the Patriots or the Eagles or the Falcons or the Colts, they fear them. Even if they think they can beat them, they fear them. And a large amount of that fear comes from the media telling them week after week after week just how good these teams are. Granted in this parity driven league this is not the factor that it used to be in the days of dynasties, but it is still a big part.
With exposure comes respect, and with respect comes fear, and fear paralyzes.

More importantly however, is the fact that exposure, brings talent. Talented players WANT to go play for teams that have respect and have national exposure. They DON'T want to play in Egypt where they get no exposure. The really great players WANT to see themselves on ESPN, they WANT to be talked about and debated about in the media.
Can I prove that statement? YES! The proof is in the fact that every single year, free agents go to teams where the national exposure is high, and where they have a chance to win. The players themselves all talk about respect until everyone is sick of hearing it. The players themselves are constantly talking about how their particular team didn't get any respect. What do they mean by respect? MEDIA ATTENTION!!! Todays players equate respect with national exposure, plain and simple, and teams that get no national exposure, get no respect, and therefore don't get the big name, big time, game changing athletes.

Why is it that every single year, teams like the Cardinals, and the Saints, or whatever other perenially crappy team you can think of, ALWAYS draft high and can never seem to assemble a talented team? Are these teams really so inept in the draft that they simply do not know talent? Or is that, due to lack of national exposure, as soon as these players contracts run out, they bolt for bigger and better things? If you are honest, you know the answer to that question.
A few years back for example, the Cardinals drafted Simean Rice, a very gifted athlete, who floundered in mediocrity in Arizona, uuntil when finally his contract ran out, he bolted to the team which at that time was getting all the media hype, the Buccaneers. Suddenly Simean Rice seemed to become overnight a great DE. Was it really that all of a sudden he just got better? Or was it that reallly he had been great all along but now suddenly the media began talking about it? Again if you are being honest you know the answer to that question.
The Bengals who were called the Bungles for so many years, couldn't ever seem to get it together, until they hired a coach who was a media darling. Suddenly, almost magically good players decided they wanted to go play in Cincinatti. Coincidence? Nope, simply the power of media exposure. After all, who wanted to go play for a team who nobody respected? But now the media was paying attention after this big hiring, and voila; players said for the first time in almost 20 years, gee maybe I will think about going to play for the Bengals.
When is the last time that you heard a player talk about how he would just love to go play in Seattle? That's right, it never happens. But I bet it would if the media was talking about what a great team we had all the time, like they do with the Eagles.
Bottom line is, if you think that players don't care about exposure you are flat out stupid or insane. Exposure drives up the price of their contracts, exposure makes a good player like Derek Jeter, (and that's what he is, a good player NOT a great player) into a hero of legendary proportions, bigger than life. Jeter is a sure fire hall of famer, but when you look at his actual numbers, there is no way he belongs there. So why will he get in? Because he has become bigger than his numbers, because of the national media.

If you were a great football player who had been drafted by some crappy team like the Saints and your contract ran out, where would you go? If you said that you would resign with the Saints you are a liar of epic proportions! If you said Seattle, you need to seek therapy for being a pathological liar. You would go to the place where you had the best chance of winning, and got the most face time. You would go to the place that gave you the best chance of becoming a household name, of cashing in the biggest paycheck and becoming a legend.

Remember when Eli Manning got drafted by the Chargers and he didn't want to play ther? Do you think that was because he doesn't like beautiful sunny days and warm weather? Do you think that he preferred playing in New York because he likes high crime and hot dogs? He preferred to play in New York because he thought that over the long haul he had a better chance to make his career into something legendary in New York. Because of the team assembled there? Hell no, everyone knew that the Chargers had the better team. NATIONAL EXPOSURE is the answer, period end of story!
He knows, like everyone who is being honest with themselves knows, that the Giants, whether they have ups or downs, will always be able to aquire talent, and will always be able to eventually come out of their slumps. Why? Because of the media exposure. Players will always want to play in New York, because they know beforehand that they have a chance to go beyond being thought of as a good player, they can be thought of as a legend.
Think I am wrong? Well try this on for size, two hall of fame baseball players, one playing on the east coast with that huge media machine, one playing in San Diego. The players numbers in San Diego over his career are simply breathtaking and far better than the numbers from the player on the east coast. Yet the player from the east coast is revered at a level very disproportionate to his numbers, while the player from San Diego is lagrely forgotten about outside of people who remember seeing him play and really followed the sport, or outside of San Diego. Of course you have guessed by now that I am talking about Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn. Cal is a hero on par with Ted Williams, while Gwynn is only remembered as a very good hitter. Yet Gwynn was at the very least every bit as good a player, and if you look at the numbers, was actually a FAR better player hands down. So what was the difference? National exposure!

Last point, then I am done. Why do you guys all say that you enjoy being the underdog? I for one don't get it. Underdog just means loveable loser. Me personally I would rather be the heavy favorite, the team that every team is scared spitless of facing, the team that everybody knows has a great chance to win it all every year.
I would much rather be the Yankees than the Cubs, or the Lakers, than the Cavaliers. HELLOOOOOO! Being the Cinderella or the underdog sneaking up on people just means that usually you SUCK!!! But hey if guys like being thought of as losers, well...I guess there's no accounting for taste. Me personally, I would rather be thought of as the baddest boy on the block, the one guy who everyone points to and says, you don't even want to mess with him, rather than "Don't even give me the Seahawks, they are a joke."