When the local NFL team consistently underachieves, the paying customers eventually will exercise their right to heckle the home team.
But when that happens, there’s always a chance that a member of the home team will react.
Last year, coach Rex Ryan reacted in the heat of the moment, drawing a $75,000 fine for directing a profanity at a fan who yelled that Patriots coach Bill Belichick is better than Ryan.
This year, Ryan and the rest of the Jets kept their composure while making the walk of shame to the locker room at the half of another home drubbing by the Pats. Six day later, linebacker Bart Scott opted to shrug off the criticism by fans of pro athletes based on the fact that the fans aren’t pro athletes.
“At the end of the day, if you made it to be able to put an NFL uniform on, then you are one of the best athletes in the world,” Scott told Gary Myers of the New York Daily News. “The person yelling at you probably was picked last in dodge ball all through high school. So do you care about the opinion of them? No.”
On Thursday night, much of the abuse came from fans in the big-ticket Coaches Club area. But that didn’t surprise Scott.
“Those are the ones who feel more entitled,” Scott said. “I would love to go to his job and see what he does and sit in his ear and talk stuff.”
Actually, that could be a good idea for a post-career reality show for Scott. Non-athletes will try to do their jobs while Scott heckles them.
It would at least be more interesting than watching a game played by the 2012 Jets.