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Anyone Else Aggravated?

I just needed to get this off my mind, but I'd just like to ask if anyone else is getting tired of the man-crush the media has on the Patriots?  I didn't really speak out before today about the drivel King put out concerning his "power" rankings.

I would really like to look up to see how many of these "journalists" (and I use the term very loosely) are from Boston or are just New England fans because this isn't even reporting, it's homerism. 

I try to contain my homerism when talking about the Colts, and I know at times I fail, but I at least try to look at it objectively even if it's just for a fleeting instant.  Sometimes I understand that I'm vehemently defending the Colts on something I don't absolutely agree with, but there's enough shred of truth for me to put up a fight. 

That's really for another topic, and one I'll probably get into in the near future (about how I actually see the team and try to eliminate as much subjectivity as possible), but my point is that people are human and subject to their own biases and emotions that can jade their "objective" opinions to seem quite the opposite.  However, if you claim to be a journalist for an unbiased news organization, you should either make certain that your homerism doesn't ooze through, or if it does, there isn't much room to argue.  Or at the very least, be able to defend your argument with an intelligent counterargument that doesn't sound ridiculous.

With that said, and subject to your own analysis, I give you Peter King's response to thousands of "WTF were you thinking?!" responses to his Monday edition of MMQB :

"Let's start with the Steelers being behind the Patriots. Abdul Abdulbarr of Washington writes: "Can you please explain in detail why you feel New England should be No. 1-overall and not Pittsburgh, the Super Bowl champs who beat the crap out of the Patriots in the regular season, and who return basically the same team from last year and Tom Brady is a big question mark for New England. So please, on God's green earth, tell me how can you put New England No. 1''

What would you say, Abdul, if I told you recent history tells us there's a 12-percent chance the Steelers will repeat? Let's look at the Super Bowl winners this decade, and what happened the following year:

2000: Baltimore beat the Giants 34-7, then went 10-6 and lost a divisional playoff game the next year.
2001: New England beat St. Louis 20-17, then went 9-7, out of the playoffs the next year.
2002: Tampa Bay beat Oakland 48-21, then went 7-9, out of the playoffs the next year.
2003: New England beat Carolina 32-29, then went 14-2 and won the Super Bowl the next year.
2004: New England beat Philadelphia 24-21, then went 10-6 and lost a divisional playoff game the next year.
2005: Pittsburgh beat Seattle 21-10, then went 8-8, out of the playoffs the next year.
2006: Indianapolis beat Chicago 29-17, then went 13-3 and lost a divisional playoff game to San Diego the next year.
2007: The Giants beat New England 17-14, then went 12-4 and lost a divisional playoff game to Philadelphia the next year.

One for 8. One Super Bowl winner. One conference champion.

That's my point: History says Pittsburgh's got a steep hill to climb here, and the Steelers may well do it. But the more I watch this game, the more I realize there's a reason teams don't repeat. I love the Steelers, I love everything about the Rooney/Tomlin regime, and I love the leaders on their team. But I respect history, too. And this New England team comes back with a quarterback who I think will be healthy, and a quarterback and a team that will come back hungry to prove they're still a champion. Just my opinion."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/peter_king/05/12/mail/index.html

Yes, you read that right, his argument is that "History says that Pittsburgh will not repeat so I won't put them at #1 and I'm a firm believer in history.  With that said, history says that the Patriots are super awesome, and the Patriots used to be really good and wouldn't normally miss the playoffs after having a laughable schedule like they did last season, so I'm going to put them at #1." 

That is why I felt the need to write anything at all about the subject.  It's not the fact that he ranked the Patriots at #1, you can rank whatever team you want at #1.  But this is the best argument he could come up with?  Really?  Do they not check anything he writes before he posts it?  I was beyond the point of bashing King for some of the idiotic things he writes because it's pretty much the norm and would be a full time job just to keep up, but at least put some effort into a response when you're a "journalist" from a news organization that most people take seriously and having employees with half a brain.  Yeah, it may just be your opinion, just as this entire fanpost is MY opinion, but I'm willing to back stuff up or admit when I'm wrong over "Just my opinion."

So, in summation, get ready for the Patriot crotch jockeys to be in full force until late December.  As the old saying goes "If you don't have anything intelligent to say, shut the hell up."  This was really just to get a few things off my chest.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors.

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East Coast

There is an east coast bias, plain and simple, because most of the major NFL reporting outlets are based in NY or thereabouts. Couple that with the fact that the Pats are traditionally a tough, smart football team and the rest is history in my opinion.

I think everyone loves Bells and Brady, and winning 11 games last year with the backup QB didn’t hurt either, regardless of division.

I think that if the Colts had 1 more SB win, and the Colts played more physical defense year in and year out, they would be up there with the Pats as the media darling. The media typically hates on the Colts because they appear soft on TV (smaller players, lack of running game, lack of run D) and most of those former player “experts” on ESPN and NFL Network have had it force fed to them time and time again that tough defense and the ability to run the ball wins championships so they don’t give the Colts as much credit.

As for the Steelers, they are my #1 team if I had a power rankings. They have almost everyone returning, are still a young team for the most part, added Ziggy for what it’s worth, have a great coach and a gutsy QB that always seems to pull a big play out of his ass (and I hate that) and their schedule is going to be cake this year so I think it is about 90% or higher that they will be back in the playoffs again with a #1 or #2 seed.

"Senior citizens, although slow and dangerous behind the wheel, can still serve a purpose."

by AceOfSpades on May 13, 2009 4:58 PM EDT reply actions  

*division

should have been “schedule”

"Senior citizens, although slow and dangerous behind the wheel, can still serve a purpose."

by AceOfSpades on May 13, 2009 5:00 PM EDT up reply actions  

I think

the problem with sports journalism is the same as the problem with most journalism today: rather than seek out what is newsworthy or relevant or has a serious impact in the field being covered, journalists seek out what will get a rise out of their audience. More and more we see how objectivity goes out the window when the goal is to move papers or get TV ratings or get web site hits. If there were thousands of “WTF were you thinking?” replies to King, then I guarantee you his bosses are praising him for a column that drove a lot of traffic to their site.

Not to sound too much like the old cranky guy, but journalism (sports journalism included) used to be first and foremost about educating the public. Now it’s almost exclusively about making money.

by ctnyc on May 13, 2009 5:05 PM EDT reply actions  

Hell yeah I'm aggravated

but it just fuels the fire for me. I hope to see King proven wrong.

How can you not love a team that does this?

by LovinBlue on May 13, 2009 5:35 PM EDT reply actions  

Aggrevated, definitely.

I have this same feeling every year around this time…

And, the fact that the Pats have not won a SB in a while is all the reminder I need that the “opinions” of these guys are just that: opinions. They carry absolutely no weight.

"I throw, you catch. It's NOT that hard!"
Peyton Manning, SNL, 2007

by peytonsthebest on May 13, 2009 5:44 PM EDT reply actions  

Can we please all agree

that it’s spelled “aggravated”?

by ctnyc on May 13, 2009 6:01 PM EDT reply actions  

Sorry I got you confused with Merr

Damn spelling Nazi’s. Go read a dictionary.

OH NO WE SUCK AGAIN!

by colts9318rock on May 13, 2009 6:27 PM EDT up reply actions  

I don't mind misspellings

as long as they’re consistent. Going back and forth between “aggrevated” and “aggravated” was giving me whiplash. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

by ctnyc on May 13, 2009 6:38 PM EDT up reply actions  

my apologies

=-)

"I throw, you catch. It's NOT that hard!"
Peyton Manning, SNL, 2007

by peytonsthebest on May 13, 2009 6:44 PM EDT up reply actions  

ooh metaphoric whiplash, that stuff hurts!

"If you don't [draft me], I promise you I'll come back and kick your ass for the next 15 years."

by psvirsky on May 13, 2009 7:18 PM EDT up reply actions  

I'm aggravated by misspellings, too!

AARRRGGHHH! Today is not my day!! :-)

How can you not love a team that does this?

by LovinBlue on May 13, 2009 7:20 PM EDT up reply actions  

you mean

like “definately” instead of the actual word “definitely” ????

seeing that word spelled like that is like nails on a chalkboard for me.

"Senior citizens, although slow and dangerous behind the wheel, can still serve a purpose."

by AceOfSpades on May 14, 2009 8:45 AM EDT up reply actions  

Definately

How can you not love a team that does this?

by LovinBlue on May 14, 2009 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions  

ha

"Rule #76: No excuses. Play like a champion!"

by AceOfSpades on May 15, 2009 5:18 PM EDT up reply actions  

/humor

How can you not love a team that does this?

by LovinBlue on May 14, 2009 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions  

Corrected

So you can stop crying. FWIW, you will now be corrected by myself for any misspellings or errors I come across.

Jim Sorgi runs a 4.6 40. That's all I've got to say about that.

by monstersbox on May 13, 2009 7:58 PM EDT up reply actions  

Oh, sure...

now it looks like I’m the only one….fine. whatever.

;-)

"I throw, you catch. It's NOT that hard!"
Peyton Manning, SNL, 2007

by peytonsthebest on May 15, 2009 5:55 PM EDT up reply actions  

I'm curious.

Did Peter King ever rank the Patriots #1 in his preseason power ranking after they won a super bowl?

by coltsfanawalt on May 13, 2009 6:09 PM EDT reply actions  

Yes

Patriots got King’s #1 spot heading into 1998. SI.com doesn’t have any prior years archived.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/peter_king/05/02/rankings/index.html

by Maedhros on May 13, 2009 6:15 PM EDT up reply actions  

err, 2008. Not sure why I put 1998…

by Maedhros on May 13, 2009 6:15 PM EDT up reply actions  

He had the Colts #1 in 2007

So he has picked a team #1 the following year, history be damned.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/peter_king/07/16/mmqb/

NFC North and NFC South writer for SB Nation's NFL Draft blog: Mocking the Draft

by mgrex03 on May 13, 2009 8:24 PM EDT up reply actions  

So he has had them two years running.

I’m still curious if he ever applied his rule of “history” to a year after the Pats won it all. Because that would prove the bias and bull of this latest reasoning. Also, picking them after losing the super bowl? History apparantly didn’t factor in there, either. Hmm.

by coltsfanawalt on May 13, 2009 6:27 PM EDT reply actions  

I completely forgot

The reason why I decided to post this. After everyone was saying the Patriots would get Taylor if they wanted him, he ended up signing with the Dolphins at a “reduced price”. Which led to the insinuation that the Parcells and the Dolphins essentially begged him to come back so he wouldn’t play for the Patriots. I found it irritating.

Jim Sorgi runs a 4.6 40. That's all I've got to say about that.

by monstersbox on May 13, 2009 8:01 PM EDT reply actions  

Irritating and lazy journalism

I thought it was pretty common knowledge that Taylor missed his wife and kids last season and wanted to come back to Miami at any price. But I guess that doesn’t make as sensational a story as insinuations of behind-the-scenes begging.

by ctnyc on May 14, 2009 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions  

I think

When there’s a non-story or something that the media doesn’t consider “spicy” enough, they just flat out lie. Well, I mean, I’m sure about that, but in the NFL someone has to get “screwed” for it to make any sense. I mean, it just can’t be that easy.

Not to mention it’s getting pretty laughable what the media is making up with Favre. I think he’s going to get a bionic arm installed so he can play next week. At least that’s what they’re brewing up at ESPN. Bionic arm and he’s going to sacrifice a goat to the God of Hash Browns.

Jim Sorgi runs a 4.6 40. That's all I've got to say about that.

by monstersbox on May 14, 2009 1:39 PM EDT up reply actions  

It's not homerism, it's simply an attempt at backing the right horse

If it were truly homerism, than these writers would all stick with the team when they’re down, offering excuses etc… – which they most definitely do not. If I remember correctly, the Patriots were chosen to win the Super Bowl last year too, but those predictions hobbled off the field alongside Brady, 8 minutes into the first game of the season.

We’re not buying it, because the media talks out of both sides of its mouth – putting the Patriots at the top, while warning that Jason Taylor going to Miami instead of NE is going to doom its defense.

It’s just the same-old, same-old no games going on so we have to make up stories off-season. Remember, Pittsburgh flew under the radar last year and ended up World Champions. Maybe someone should have tipped off the media back in May of ’08.

Keep the faith!

by Marima on May 15, 2009 8:12 PM EDT reply actions  

I too am tired of the media love for the Pats. Everyone assumes Brady will come back and be awesome without realizing that, 15 years ago, his career would have ended that day in KC. I think it takes him AT LEAST until mid season to be effective again, and there is a good chance that he isn’t the same until next year.

by 2ndBlueGeneration on May 15, 2009 11:02 PM EDT reply actions  

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