Jets coach Rex Ryan isn’t known for keeping his mouth shut, but maybe he should have zipped his lips before telling reporters that he’s a Giants fan.
The New York Post reports that Ryan professed his love of New York’s other NFL team at a press conference on Saturday.
“I’m a Giant fan,” Ryan told reporters. “I want the Giants to win in the NFC because I think it’s great for our town, for our stadium and [for] this area. I think that’s great. I’d love to meet them in the Super Bowl. We’ll sign up for that.”
Even stranger than the response is why Ryan said it. The reporter was asking Ryan a question about the Yankees, not the Giants.
Ryan’s comments are fairly innocuous, mostly stressing how good a Giants win would benefit the New York area. But Ryan’s comments will surely make some Giants fans laugh at the thought that Ryan prefers the Giants over his own team.
While the Giants and the Jets aren’t division or conference rivals, there’s a metropolitan rivalry at stake. You wouldn’t hear Joe Girardi admit to being a Mets fan (not that anyone would admit that anyway). And Mike McCarthy wouldn’t be caught dead hoping for a Vikings win.
There’s nothing wrong with coaches or players liking a team they don’t play for. Coaches and players get moved around all the time, and how often do players get drafted by their favorite teams?
But once you’re on a team, that’s the only team that matters. When mentioning the Giants, Ryan should have realized that there would be a possibility that some Jets fans could take offense.
