The whole Kerry Rhodes saga has unravelled and unravelled fairly quickly in front of our own eyes, their have been several angry comments aimed at Rhodes on here over the past week or so, and some that have questioned him to no end (some of them made by yours truly), but I thought that Rhodes made baby steps in an attempt to resolve the issue yesterday with a few of his post game comments....although they were of course mixed in with his all too familiar, I'm going to show the haters what I can do.....maybe on another team. Not directly quoted but it was that kind of vibe.
"I have gotten a lot of great feedback as far as people wanting me here and some people don’t," Rhodes said after the game. "So, just those guys that don’t believe that I can do anything, I am sure another team wouldn’t mind having me on the team to show them, that’s all."
The above comments are infuriating to fans who just want him to ignore some tweets that he gets from some angry fans and just play the game. I'm sure it's very frustrating for him to have people question him all the time, however surely he can see that by addressing them he is isolating an even bigger proportion of the fan base. I'm not a Kerry Rhodes hater, but after this incident I'm certainly not a Kerry Rhodes fan either.
However despite his hints that he may seek employment elsewhere after this season, saying that he might not mind a change, and the only reason he would leave is to show the 'haters' (which sounds so immature) I don't think he really wants to go anywhere. He said himself he enjoys the city, and his outside football activities only thrive in an area like New York.
So in time it started to feel like high school, do you remember when someone really wanted to do something, but they wanted everyone else to want them to do it, so they would pretend like they wanted no part in it. Which of course encouraged everyone else to compliment them, tell them how great they were, how it wouldn't be the same without them, an EGS (ego boost scenario) something that Kerry has received from hundreds and probably thousands of his twitter followers.
Let's be perfectly honest here, I don't believe that Kerry wants out of New York at all, this is the perfect city, the perfect environment to host a personality like Kerry's. So for the first time yesterday, I saw a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel or perhaps the road, when Kerry made this comment
"Right now I am trying to win and help this team win and that is what I am doing right now."
Not earth shattering granted, but it's at least a start to a resolution and perhaps the bridges that have been burned can be resurrected over the last three games, so what does Kerry have to do to continue on the 'Rhode To Resolution"?
- Stop addressing hateful tweets that he is sent, ignore them, block them, or delete them
- Advance on his comment above, how winning is the only important thing and all he has his mind on is the New York Jets
- Stop trying to prove himself to the 'haters' a group of people he really shouldn't care about
- Show his support to his team mates, come out and say that he wants his job back but in the mean time, Eric Smith has his full support, he may be supporting him behind closed doors, but with the need to repair relations with the fans, a public comment would go a long way
- Stop with the mysterious answers about next year and beyond, if asked, just reply that the focus is on the upcoming game and nothing else matters
- Dedicate himself entirely to his on field play. Don't be embarrassed or ashamed to admit weaknesses in his game, fans appreciate the truth, and comments about how your working to improve go down as well as a JD & Coke
Can we please have the old Kerry Rhodes back, the one who looked like he was working his butt off on every play, who hit people and hit them hard, who was loved by the fans and returned the love in return. The one who was still trying to show the league how good of a player he was, the hungry one with fire in his eyes. He has the athletic ability, but is he willing to work to resolve this issue and work his way back into favour. I think following the above method would be a starting point.