Aug 22, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants tight end Larry Donnell (84) takes down New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith (7) during the first quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
New York can be one of the greatest places to play when you’re winning but when you’re struggling, New Yorkers place you on a short leash before they let you know loud and clear how they feel about your poor play whether it’s your own individual play or the team’s poor play collectively. Every professional sports team in this city has heard it’s fair share of boo birds because New York is a city with a winning culture and when you’re not delivering, you can expect to see the negative headlines on the newspapers, hear all the sports talk radio shows criticize you, and you can see all the jeers on social media if you choose to look.
Inside the Iggles
But the worst feeling of all for a struggling athlete is to be booed and taunted by his own home crowd after a stretch of poor performances. These boos from the crowd are always the loudest and the most profound because you have over 80,000 people in a stadium they paid a lot of their hard earned money to get into, to see the team they root for perform at a high level and win games. And when that doesn’t happen for a period of time, the fans here in New York no matter what team will get fed up and collectively let that team know that they are not happy with the product they are seeing on the field.
See, New Yorkers understand capitalism better than anyone. We pay a certain price for a product which is in this case paying a few hundred dollars to see a sports team amaze them with their talent and send the fans home happy with a win. If a team doesn’t deliver on that investment made by the fans, you can bet your bottom dollar these fans will not stand for it and will make their voices heard with some of it being very vulgar in nature because for most fans sports are a release from the daily grind of a stressful work week. When the stress from their beloved team playing poorly is added to that mix, fans will get upset and have every right to voice their opinions whether the players like it or not.
New York Jets second year starting quarterback Geno Smith found that out the hard way after last Sunday’s 24-17 home loss to the Detroit Lions that had Megatron on a bad ankle. Smith went a very tepid 17-33 with 209 passing yards and one interception. The Jets played very flat all game in from of a loud home crowd and the team was booed off the field as the game ended. As Smith was exiting the field, he was being taunted by the MetLife crowd when they were chanting “We want Vick!” referring to backup QB Michael Vick and Jets fan’s desire to see him start over the struggling Smith. Smith retorted by shouting an obscenity toward the fans and stormed off the field. Smith later apologized for cursing out the home crowd stating that he “lost his temper.” Even with that apology, Smith shouldn’t have lost his cool and snapped at the fans after he gave them nothing to cheer for this season.
“If Geno Smith needs proof of that, all he needs is to take a look at the career of the last young starting QB for the Jets that came before him, Mark Sanchez.” – ” Anthony Valerio
If there is anyone in New York that knows what Geno Smith is going through, it’s New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who has heard more than his fare share of jeers and criticism over his eleven year career in New York. Manning has been constantly criticized from all angles despite delivering two Super Bowl trophies to the Big Apple. Manning has been rarely booed at home but has never lost his temper and always knows how to handle it and respond to it like a professional athlete should. That is the level of maturity that Smith must learn in order to become a true leader of his team.
Manning offered some advice to the young and struggling QB, stating:
"“For the most part, if they’re yelling at you, you probably deserve it.” Manning also stated “hey, every quarterback goes through it. You’re going to have some good games, you’re going to have some bad games. You’ll have tough stretches. Just get through it, work through it, and with hard work if you’re doing the right things it’ll ease up.”"
It would be wise for Smith to adhere to the veteran Manning’s advice on how to survive playing in the city with arguably the most passionate fans in the world. Manning has become a champion in this city by having thick skin and never losing his focus. He worked every day to make himself a better player and has delivered countless times on the biggest stage. That is possible for Geno Smith to accomplish with time, but he will never make it playing here if he continues to let the negativity get to him. If he doesn’t take Manning’s advice and continues to struggle, the calls for Vick and the boos will only get louder until he is completely run out of town. If Geno Smith needs proof of that, all he needs is to take a look at the career of the last young starting QB for the Jets that came before him, Mark Sanchez.