The game inside the game

By Tim McManus

There is a delicate, unspoken game that goes on between sports figures and the media.

The average fan does not have access to it and might not even know it exists, but it is very real and has a direct affect on how a player/coach is perceived.

Just ask former Vikings beat writer and The Phanatic's very own John McMullen, who was behind the scenes for nearly every day of the Mike Tice era. Tice was abnormally forthright with journalists, even running in to inform the assembled mass on Draft Day what players he was hoping to land before his team was on the clock -- just unprecedented honesty in the modern era.

He was personable and candid and well-liked. As a result, Tice was given a very long leash, and was only met with moderate scrutiny locally despite his shortcomings as a head coach.

Brad Childress, conversely, rubbed the media the wrong way immediately, moving their office out of the practice facility to across the street as soon as he got into town. It was taken as a slight. Now, Childress needs to be about perfect if he doesn't want to get ripped. And he's been far from perfect.

It's no different here in Philadelphia. Wander through the Eagles locker room, and it doesn't take long to figure out who's willing to engage you, and who would rather split you in two. Some of the figures -- like Jeremiah Trotter and L.J. Smith, for example -- talk into the microphone as if they were speaking to a teammate, providing soundbites that will make the reporters' pieces more captivating.

The press , as a result, cultivates relationships with such athletes, and will hesitate when presented an opportunity to scrutinize.

It may not be right, but it's absolutely the truth.

Other figures -- like Reid, most notably -- shut down as soon as the first question is launched from the seats to the podium. This we all know.

But what you might not think about is the affect it has on the things that are written and said. Consider, for a moment, if Reid coupled the success he has had here with the personality of a Buddy Ryan or even a Joe Gibbs. Intelligence would be labeled genius; abhorrible decisions just missteps, likely caused by a force out of his control.

Instead, he faces questions like: "Has Andy Reid lost the locker room?" and is not getting the praise he deserves for turning a 5-6 Eagles team into a division winner despite being without the services of his star quarterback.

Ah yes, the quarterback.

This is where the media/sports figure relationship gets really interesting. It's unfair to say that Donovan McNabb has been completely ungiving to the press. He entertains most questions, tries to give a workable response, and will even throw a gem out there every once in a while.

But like Reid, there's a definite distance that he generates. It's palpable and strong, leaving the writers (and ultimately, the fans) feeling very much on the outside of McNabb's world. He's never rude and his behavior certainly doesn't invite criticism. Rather, his unwillingness to engage with the city, essentially, leaves the city unwilling to engage fully with him.

And so when he is called on the carpet for being too much of a company man, too much of a complainer, not enough of a leader, etc. -- there isn't an army of backers willing to shoot down these arguments, mostly because he hasn't divulged enough of himself to give us a good read one way or another.

This is not a personal fault, mind you. McNabb just doesn't put a lot of stock into the communications side of the business, preferring to be judged by his actions on the field.

Essentially, all he can really be faulted for is refusing to play the game -- a decision that has left him vulnerable, justly or otherwise.

- Tim's column appears on this page every Thursday. You can contact him at tmcm1997@yahoo.com.


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The Phanatic