As a Jewish New Yorker, I was looking forward to watching Josh Rosen play quarterback on Sundays for one of my hometown teams. But my favorite team, the NY Giants, and the other NY team, the Jets, both passed on him in Thursday’s NFL draft. So I’m bummed.
I mean the Giants took a freaking running back, Saquon Barkley, with the 2nd pick. Running backs are rarely game changers in today’s pass-happy NFL.
Plus Eli Manning is 37 years old. What is Big Blue thinking, that he’s still in his prime? I can tell you for sure he’s not going to be suiting up for the G-Men even two years from now.
So the Arizona Cardinals traded up from the 15th pick to the 10th pick to select Rosen. Which is interesting. If Rosen is as good as advertised, then he’ll thrive anywhere.
But he would have been a bona fide phenomenon in the New York/New Jersey area. Because let’s face it, Arizona is kind of a backwater.
The more important question is, where will Josh Rosen find a good bagel with cream cheese and lox in whitebread and mayo Phoenix? That’s what’s gnawing at me.
There are nearly 2 million Jews combined in the states of New York and New Jersey. Arizona has a meager 100,000. So it really does seem like a missed opportunity.
Then there’s the draft coverage of Rosen, which I found problematic. Rosen was called “smart” about a million times by the TV analysts. Kirk Herbstreit even said he had “quick eyes.” Which sure sounds borderline stereotype-y.
In the end, who knows how it will turn out. All I can say is, Jews in the New York metropolitan area were looking forward to rooting for one of our own. Remember how excited we were about Shawn Green on the Mets? And he was already past his prime when he arrived.
I really liked Josh Rosen’s draft interview though. Suzy Kolber asked him what his emotion and the mindset was after being drafted at #10, which was a lot lower than he was originally projected.. Rosen’s answer? “I’m motivated. Just motivated.”
Hell yeah Josh! Show these WASP m-fer’s what we can do on the field, not just in the boardroom, the courtroom or the checkup room.
So I’ll still root for Rosen on Sundays, and maybe I’ll have to start watching some Cardinals game.
Let’s do this Josh. You have the hopes and aspirations of millions of American Jews on your shoulders.
Take us home, my brother.
