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NBC New York – New York’s new whipping boy has revealed himself.  Mark Sanchez appeared before reporters on Wednesday and said he would never, ever be so foolish as to share thoughts with people who want to hear his thoughts before they have an opportunity to ask him about his thoughts.  Press Conferencegate has been out to rest. Now we can move on with our lives.  At least we can until Sanchez does something else out of the ordinary. It’s quickly become clear that the Jets quarterback is going to be given the A-Rod treatment in the media unless and until he can win himself a Super Bowl ring. Don’t believe it? Think back to the response to Hot Doggate and the way that something most people responded to with a laugh was treated as a controversial incident.  You’re familiar with the treatment. Step one is taking something goofy but innocuous — shirtless sunbathing or hot dog snacking — and make it seem like the incident is a negative stamp on the player’s personality and has some bearing on the way they play the game. Step two is using interactions with the media that differ from the normal canned athlete-speak and use it to paint the player as awkward and skittish about playing in the big city. Throw in breathless reporting about their love life, magazine articles and snide remarks about their salary and continue ad nauseum. The biggest difference between A-Rod and Sanchez at this point is that there are actual on-field reasons to criticize Sanchez. His team has lost five of six games, he’s had at least one turnover in eight of nine games and, most damningly, he continues to make the same mistakes over and over again. Focusing on those things seems like plenty of fodder without inventing controversies, just as focusing on A-Rod the player always seemed easier than caring about what he wore while laying on a rock in Central Park.

This seriously could be one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever seen written.  I mean yea, I get it.  It’s more of a commentary on the New York media and how crazy they are as opposed to his actual opinion
on the situation.  But its still fucking ridiculous.  The media
portrayal and New York opinions of Sanchez versus that of A-Rod isn’t
even close. The two players don’t compare at all.  Not even a little.
The biggest difference between Mark Sanchez and Alex Rodriguez is that
Sanchez is 9 games into his career as a rookie quarterback and Alex
Rodriguez was making $30 million a year playing alongside the Immortal
Derek Jeter, the one man who he could never live up to.  To compare
anyone at all to Alex Rodriguez is ridiculous.  It was the perfect
storm of ignorant fans and the sport’s wealthiest and most talented
player in a situation where no matter what he did (or does) he will
never be completely vindicated.  I wouldn’t be surprised if there is
never another situation quite like Alex Rodriguez.

If you can think way back to 6 weeks ago (I know its a long time) you’ll remember that Mark Sanchez was the golden boy of NYC.  Dubbed “The Sanchise” and praised in every major sports outlet in the city. A-Rod barely got that treatment during a legendary playoff run culminating in a World Series ring.  So just to be clear here, we are saying that these two players are the same:

Mark Sanchez – 1st year quarterback, under the guidance of a 1st year coach, going through perfectly normal rookie QB struggles, with a couple quirky incidents which he immediately owned up to and apologized

Alex Rodriguez – Highest paid athlete in all of team sports, admitted and proven steroid user who floundered in clutch playoff situations for years, an egomaniac and Scott Boras puppet, and an old lady pop star/movie star fucker.

The book hasn’t even begun to be written on Mark Sanchez and we’re already comparing him to one of the most infamous sports personalities the world has ever seen.  That seems reasonable.