ESPN’s Get Up has been called out in the past for seeming to be infatuated with the New York Jets. The fans who’ve argued that point were up in arms again Monday when the show led off with a lengthy segment on the team’s latest loss.
The Jets got hammered by the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday night, 37-15. They’ve lost four in a row and are 2-5.
Admittedly, the Jets have some interesting storylines: the aging four-time MVP quarterback, the recently fired head coach, the trade for an All-Pro wide receiver, sky-high expectations going down like the Hindenburg.
Yet Sunday’s NFL schedule featured arguably the best slate of games fans will see this season: Green Bay beat Houston, Kansas City topped San Francisco, Detroit beat undefeated Minnesota and Saquon Barkley had a monster game in his return to New York.
Did Get Up really need to lead with the J-E-T-S, Jets!, Jets!, Jets!?
That’s what the show did, however, getting right to it. Everyone on the set had something appropriately critical to say about the disappointing team.
“It’s about damn time that someone in that locker room put their damn foot in the ground and said, ‘Enough is enough,'” former Jets offensive lineman Damien Woody said.
“How much of the blame goes to (Aaron) Rodgers?” host and Jets fan Mike Greenberg asked former Jets head coach Rex Ryan.
“A lot of it should,” Ryan said. “Aaron Rodgers knows he’s not playing up to his standards.”
Greenberg proceeded to note the difference between the Steelers’ organizational stability (three head coaches since 1969) and the Jets. Tedy Bruschi called out the Jets defense for its effort.
https://youtu.be/puQa3s73WjA?si=75qGxW2QrJtEWsqs
That’s a great conversation, and one could argue it deserved a place somewhere in the show. But definitely not as the lead item, for almost 20 minutes.
Fans vented their irritation on social media. Matthew Dowd noted on X, “With so many awesome games between great teams, ESPN Get Up leads with the Jets, who are a bottom five team in the league. Come on guys, most of America could care less about the Jets.”
with so many awesome games between great teams, espn Get UP leads with the Jets, who are a bottom five team in the league. come on guys, most of America could care less about the Jets. @GetUpESPN Greeny et al are ridiculous to lead with Jets.
— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) October 21, 2024
Other fans seemed equally irritated/frustrated by the show’s Jets coverage.
I find watching Get Up an interesting exercise. Through 40 minutes this morning, they spent 20 minutes on the Jets, 7 minutes on Saquon and the Eagles, and 3 minutes on the WNBA and the rest is commercials.
— Average Joe in the D (@AveJoeintheD) October 21, 2024
Only @GetUpESPN would cover a game 90% do not care about for the first 20 minutes to lead if their show. Stop with the Jets coverage….please!
— zona (@zonabbest) October 21, 2024
@GetUpESPN has spent the first 21 minutes on the pathetic JETS. @Espngreeny must own @espn
— Andy Sullivan (@drewsully1) October 21, 2024
