Daily Super Bowl Hype Meme: Media Day Interview with Jeremy Shockey

We here at the GRBG spend a fair amount of time making fun of Super Bowl Media Day. In particular, we take issue with the media’s unwillingness (or inability) to get any sort of interesting information out of the player interviews on Media Day. Half of the Media Day questions are nothing more than prompts for the usual player platitudes, and the other half are asked by puppets from Guatemalan TV.

But it has occurred to us that we might have been a little unfair. After all, we’ve only ever done two interviews here at the GRBG, and neither of them involved football players. So we decided to put our reputation where our mouth is by setting up and acing an interview with a Super Bowl participant.

Amazingly, we got through to Jeremy Shockey’s people, who set up an interview for this past Wednesday. Unfortunately, we soon realized that Wednesday was the actual Media Day for this year, and while we’d have loved to have interviewed Shockey in person, the GRBG’s travel budget is down significantly this year.

But, being the can-doers that we are, we’re not letting that stop us. We’ve decided to interview Shockey by asking him questions that he has already answered elsewhere—what could be more Media Day than that? We’ll show our work by providing links to the original quotes.

Gowanus Rotisserie Baseball Gazette: Jeremy, thanks again for taking the time to speak with us today. You’ve been associated with a number of great teams, both in college and the pros. What would you say is the most important trait a championship athlete can have?

Jeremy Shockey: “It’s a matter of being consistent.” (Think Exist)

GRBG: That makes sense. After all, nothing epitomizes consistency more than that otherwise mediocre Giants team that turned on the jets to win the SB two years ago. Speaking of which, by many reports you had an acrimonious departure from the Giants. How do you feel about your old club?

JS: “I don't have any personal vendetta against the Giants.” (Louisiana Daily News)

GRBG: That’s commendably big of you. But we’d be journalistically remiss if we didn’t point out that you told a nine year-old interviewer that "[i]f I ever a chance to play against a team that trades me [as the Giants did], it's not going to be a pretty sight." (Newsday's Kidsday). Any response to that?

JS: “It’s a matter of being consistent.” (Think Exist)

GRBG: That’s only tangentially responsive, but OK. Anyway, we often hear athletes comment that, to them, team accomplishments are more important than individual awards. Is that how you feel as well?

JS: "I'm a team person. I'm very team-oriented." (Football Outsiders)

GRBG: We thought so. But, again, how does that square with your previous statement that “I didn't get drafted to be a blocking tight end or a fullback to lead up in the linebackers”? (Think Exist) Or, for that matter, your comment following a loss in New York where you said "We got outplayed and outcoached. Write that down." (Football Outsiders)

JS: "[W]hat I said was not a team thing to say. I do let my emotions get to me at times. It's just the competitive nature in me. I don't like to lose. I don't like to lose at anything." (Football Outsiders)

GRBG: Hey, we understand. We had some unkind thoughts when Deadspin bit our bit and started running a daily super bowl subplot feature. We mean, we know that they’re the industry leader, but that doesn’t excuse—

.

JS: “It’s a matter of being consistent.” (Think Exist)

GRBG: What? We—was that an answer to the previous question? Or is that just how you chime the hour or something?

You know what, though? That was actually our fault. We’re the ones who derailed the conversation. Thanks for snapping us out of it.

JS: “I think I'm a real good person. I've got good character traits, I go to Church often, and I do community service. I think I'm a really good role model.” (Jock Bio)

GRBG: Amen. No doubt you’ve been shaped by your exposure to coaches Tom Coughlin and Sean Peyton, both of whom are branches of the august Bill Parcells coaching tree.

JS: “Parcells … the homo." (Sports Illustrated)

GRBG: Oh, Jeremy, no. We mean, (a) that’s wildly offensive and (b) no gay man would walk around looking like that. Moreover, we find it difficult to square that comment with your self-proclaimed “good character”.

JS: “It’s a matter of being consistent.” (Think Exist)

GRBG: Indeed. Well, Jeremy, as a parting gift, please accept this copy of the Oxford English Dictionary, handily pre-marked at the entry for “consistent”. Any final words before we let you go? (Though we have a sneaking suspicion of what you’re going to say.)

JS: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines.Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” (Jeremy Shockey via Twitter)

GRBG: Huh--we did not see that coming. Anyhow, thanks again for your time, and good luck on Sunday.