BeeDee
08-08-2005, 11:18 AM
WHY, MEDIA?
Players question criticism, forecasts
By Chip Cosby
Lexington Herald-Leader (http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/sports/colleges/university_of_kentucky/12323106.htm)
University of Kentucky football Media Day yesterday provided the Wildcats with an opportunity to get some things off their chest with regard to ... well, the media.
Coach Rich Brooks did just that with his news conference diatribe defending the school's stance on when the UK-Louisville game should be played.
Brooks' players weren't that visibly demonstrative, but they weren't afraid to give opinions about media coverage when asked.
First and foremost, don't believe the line from players and coaches who say they are oblivious to the papers, Web sites, magazines or call-in shows. When a story viewed as "negative" or "controversial" pops up, everybody knows about it.
"Not all of us read it or hear it when it comes out, but we always find out about it," said senior linebacker Raymond Fontaine. "Sometimes the players will bring it to our attention and sometimes the coaches bring it to our attention."
The UK players have read the gloom-and-doom forecasts for the 2005 season. They've seen their coach get criticized on the pre-season magazine circuit. They've heard the snide remarks about the talent level.
"It stings a little bit," Fontaine said. "You've got to have some tough skin."
Junior defensive lineman Durrell White said he's made it a point to try to learn more about the media. He's called sports information director Tony Neely on more than one occasion after reading a particular story, and when a Herald-Leader sportswriter visited a class he was taking to discuss his job, White was one of the first students to ask questions.
"I'm just trying to understand what goes on," he said. "If someone is going to knock us, I just want to know where it's coming from or what made them feel that way."
The toughest part for most of the players, according to senior cornerback Antoine Huffman, is accepting criticism from those who may not be able to directly relate to what the players go through.
"It's hard to know if you've never played the game," he said. "Sixty percent of the fans have never played football but they always have something to say. The media, a lot of them have never played football, but yet they're the critics, the analysts. "
Sophomore tight end Jacob Tamme understands that usually means the pre-season love is reserved for the Tennessees, Floridas and Georgias.
"That's only human nature," he said. "But we have to turn it around. The magazines aren't necessarily going to know that it's going to turn around. The newspapers aren't going to know before it happens. They're going to think it's going to be another dismal year."
Meanwhile, the players say they'll use the constant criticsm as fuel. Fontaine takes the philosophical approach, saying he's a believer in "self-fulfilling prophecy."
"When people keep telling you that you're not good, I feel like if you have the support around you who tell you that you can achieve things, in the long run you become a better person for it," he said.
Huffman recalls the 2002 season when expectations were low yet the Cats were able to put together a seven-win season. After UK knocked off Mississippi State for its sixth win, then-coach Guy Morriss greeted the media with a raspberry in his post-game news conference.
"That year felt great," Huffman said. "We couldn't go to a bowl game, yet to still have the drive, commitment and dedication to go 7-5, that was something special. We proved something."
Tamme said the Cats have to turn things around on the field before things turn around in the media and Internet.
"If we do great things, great things will be in the media," Tamme said. "If we don't, the media's not going to give us the benefit of the doubt."
Players question criticism, forecasts
By Chip Cosby
Lexington Herald-Leader (http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/sports/colleges/university_of_kentucky/12323106.htm)
University of Kentucky football Media Day yesterday provided the Wildcats with an opportunity to get some things off their chest with regard to ... well, the media.
Coach Rich Brooks did just that with his news conference diatribe defending the school's stance on when the UK-Louisville game should be played.
Brooks' players weren't that visibly demonstrative, but they weren't afraid to give opinions about media coverage when asked.
First and foremost, don't believe the line from players and coaches who say they are oblivious to the papers, Web sites, magazines or call-in shows. When a story viewed as "negative" or "controversial" pops up, everybody knows about it.
"Not all of us read it or hear it when it comes out, but we always find out about it," said senior linebacker Raymond Fontaine. "Sometimes the players will bring it to our attention and sometimes the coaches bring it to our attention."
The UK players have read the gloom-and-doom forecasts for the 2005 season. They've seen their coach get criticized on the pre-season magazine circuit. They've heard the snide remarks about the talent level.
"It stings a little bit," Fontaine said. "You've got to have some tough skin."
Junior defensive lineman Durrell White said he's made it a point to try to learn more about the media. He's called sports information director Tony Neely on more than one occasion after reading a particular story, and when a Herald-Leader sportswriter visited a class he was taking to discuss his job, White was one of the first students to ask questions.
"I'm just trying to understand what goes on," he said. "If someone is going to knock us, I just want to know where it's coming from or what made them feel that way."
The toughest part for most of the players, according to senior cornerback Antoine Huffman, is accepting criticism from those who may not be able to directly relate to what the players go through.
"It's hard to know if you've never played the game," he said. "Sixty percent of the fans have never played football but they always have something to say. The media, a lot of them have never played football, but yet they're the critics, the analysts. "
Sophomore tight end Jacob Tamme understands that usually means the pre-season love is reserved for the Tennessees, Floridas and Georgias.
"That's only human nature," he said. "But we have to turn it around. The magazines aren't necessarily going to know that it's going to turn around. The newspapers aren't going to know before it happens. They're going to think it's going to be another dismal year."
Meanwhile, the players say they'll use the constant criticsm as fuel. Fontaine takes the philosophical approach, saying he's a believer in "self-fulfilling prophecy."
"When people keep telling you that you're not good, I feel like if you have the support around you who tell you that you can achieve things, in the long run you become a better person for it," he said.
Huffman recalls the 2002 season when expectations were low yet the Cats were able to put together a seven-win season. After UK knocked off Mississippi State for its sixth win, then-coach Guy Morriss greeted the media with a raspberry in his post-game news conference.
"That year felt great," Huffman said. "We couldn't go to a bowl game, yet to still have the drive, commitment and dedication to go 7-5, that was something special. We proved something."
Tamme said the Cats have to turn things around on the field before things turn around in the media and Internet.
"If we do great things, great things will be in the media," Tamme said. "If we don't, the media's not going to give us the benefit of the doubt."