It's an ugly time in the NFL.
Instead of trying to actually solve their differences and get back to the business of football, the owners and players have chosen to fight a PR war across every available communication platform. Plenty of media members are only too happy to choose sides, although one must wonder why there's such a rabid desire to choose a winning side when all anyone really cares about is being able to watch football.
This irritating and endless news cycle finally took a break this week when Rex Ryan decided to distract everyone from the labor madness. How did he do that? By telling the whole world that he plans to win a championship, of course.
"They talk about walk softly and carry a big stick. I love that. I agree with that 100%," Ryan said. "But I guess I feel more like Babe Ruth. I'm going to walk softly, I'm going to carry that big stick and then I'm going to point and then I'm going to hit it over the fence."
If you had a nickel for every time Ryan gave an unprompted soliloquy about winning the Super Bowl, you'd actually be able to afford a ticket to watch him and the Jets try to do it. If Ryan should ever actually pull it off, he'd have a pretty good case to lay claim to a spot alongside Teddy Roosevelt and Ruth on the big board of New York icons.
That was over the weekend. On Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings, Ryan was back at it. This time he held court on a variety of topics. He touched on just about everything from the proposed rule changes (he's against them) to the Wes Welker benching at the start of the playoff game with the Patriots (he was all for it) to Vernon Gholston (he's still delusional about the bust's ability). He also reiterated that the Jets will win a Super Bowl, but you probably figured that out for yourself.
Whenever Ryan lets his swagger fly, he's met with questions about whether he's concerned about the promises ringing hollow if he doesn't follow through. It's not a question worth asking. Obviously they will prove to be as empty as Charlie Sheen's conscience if the Jets never win but that's why they play the game in the first place.
Local
For now, let's just be happy that Ryan is willing to make a little noise that reminds us that there will be actual games played again some day instead of the NFL consisting only of whining billionaires and millionaires.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City. You can follow him on Twitter and he is also a contributor to Pro Football Talk.
