Tiki spoke on his daily WFAN show, ‘Tiki and Tierney’
New York Jets QB Zach Wilson has certainly had his moments in the spotlight lately.
The quarterback has taken it in stride, subtly poking fun at the Twitter drama surrounding him while focusing on football.
Meanwhile, New York media members need to find something to talk about. Wilson has provided some fodder.
So when ex-New York Giants RB Tiki Barber decided to put in his two cents on his WFAN show, ‘Tiki and Tierney,’ it should have surprised no one.
.@TikiBarber wonders what happened to the narrative of Zach Wilson being a workaholic? pic.twitter.com/j8YCtp9ARu
— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) July 14, 2022
Tiki started by saying, “Isn’t the narrative what we pay attention to? And the narrative around Zach Wilson is that he’s hanging out at, you know, the Rangers games, he’s at the Yankees game… he’s everywhere!”
Barber continued to talk about the current drama surrounding Wilson, saying, “I almost feel like it’s intentional, like he’s putting himself out there intentionally to build his brand, just like all of these young players who come into any sport, it’s what they do.”
Tiki criticized Wilson, saying that the narrative has shifted from his football work ethic.
If that’s the best you can come up with to get in your shots at the Jets, Tiki, you’ve got to up your game.
Wilson joins the countless other professional athletes who have taken in a ballgame during their free time. That includes current New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley, who threw out the first pitch at a Yankees game shortly after the Giants drafted him at No. 2 overall.
If Wilson is trying to build his brand, he is no different than Barber’s former QB, Eli Manning. Eli also took in ballgames and did SportsCenter commercials. Manning even forced a trade from San Diego to New York because of his brand.
Meanwhile, Tiki completely ignores the fact that Wilson traveled all over the country to work with his receivers, attended Tight End University to build chemistry with his guys, and, most recently, spent time with the Jets offense at an Idaho ranch to practice together.
I don’t know what narrative you’re selling, Tiki, but Jets fans aren’t buying it.
So, Mr. Barber, stick with criticizing your own team and your own quarterback. Leave the NY Jets alone.
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Takes like Tiki’s are both ignorant and inconsequential. He doesn’t work the beat and he isn’t a fan. The Tikis, Cowherds and Stephen As of sports media are all JAGs living on their next soundbite culled from whatever headlines pop up in their Google results. They don’t have an inside track on the Jets’ inner workings and their exposure to the culture is minimal at best. So, every opinion they have is meaningless in the grand scheme. Case in point, not one Jets beat writer has questioned Zach Wilson’s work ethic. If anything they’ve (against form in some instances) played up Wilson’s willingness to travel TO his receivers to work with them, his dedication to transforming his body, his seemingly greater comfort in and knowledge of Lafleur’s system and the passing camp/retreat he organized for several teammates. Lastly, we’re talking about fans born and/or raised in NY and NJ, we are all of us keenly aware when bullshit is in, or in Tiki’s case “on,” the air.
Fair enough – and takes like this would not be reported on unless there is literally nothing else to write about.
I don’t know… it’s NYC. The center of the known universe. The focus of the magnifying glass. The media capital of the world. No doubt in my mind the beat and more would still report on it. Particularly, if the Jets are in-season and are winning OR losing. It’d either be the cougar is fueling Wilson’s emergence or she’s the distraction the Jets clearly do not need.
True! I meant by our website. We wouldn’t bother.
This is why I switch from “sports talk” to 80’s on 8, after July 4th, until training camp begins. The only thing substantial to talk about is baseball, which I would love to do but no talk shows do that, so you get all of this drama. OH and BTW, what about Tiki’s brand? If I recall, he wasn’t the most well liked person on his own team. Didn’t he quit on his own team without cleaning out his locker because he had enough of Coach Coughlin? Oh wait, he figured out a couple of years later that was a bad look so he backtracked on that situation. Tiki is a spotlight monger and a “me first guy,” always had been. There you have it, anybody can have a “take.”
I made the same switch for the same reason. No one talks sports anymore.
Take a look at the articles I linked at the end on ‘your own team’ and ‘your own quarterback.’ Yeah, Tiki was some “team player.”
If Wilson wanted to generate publicity and build his brand I find it hard to believe that his first thoughts about how to achieve that consisted of boning his mother’s best friend.