Before we delve into the claim made by Rich Eisen and why it was bold, we shall first establish who indeed is Rich Eisen.
According to the “American Football Database Fandom” Wiki, Rich Eisen is a sports commentator and an American television journalist who works for the NFL Network and has worked for ESPN as well. He is married to reporter Suzy Schuster whose focus is College Football.
Sports has been a part of who he is for a long time, he started as a college sports co-editor of his school’s newspaper.
He earned his BA and his MSc in the field of journalism between the years 1990 and 1994.
In those intervening years he did work as a staff writer for a Staten Island Newspaper and as the Washington Correspondent for a local newspaper.
Who Is Rich Eisen?
Rich Eisen was known for his sense of humor and ability to get his work done in a jiffy but also well. His imitations of now-deceased commentator Skip Caray were remembered for their accuracy and humorousness.
He was on many shows such as Home Run Derby, Beg Borrow Deal, and Domino Day (non-sport), while he was presenting, hosting, or was a guest on such shows, he carried out other important things, such as exclusive interviews.
He has been on the NFL Network for nearly 20 years now, from 2003 till the present day, in this time he has raised $400,000 for charity, hosted shows such as NFL Total Access, NFL GameDay Highlights, Thursday Night Football
Pregame, “The Rich Eisen Podcast” and famously tried to beat various times of his 40-yard dash. His fastest was 5.94 seconds in the year 2016.
Rich Eisen has his own show from the year 2014 onwards called “The Rich Eisen Show”, over its life it moved from channel to channel, never to find a home, when it was finally threatened to be closed, it switched to YouTube.
He has on the side also acted in other genres, “The Great Escape” and he has appeared with celebrity co-hosts like Rebecca Romijn.
He’s a fan of the New York Jets, the New York Yankees, and the Michigan Wolverines.
What Was The Bold Statement Which Rich Said?
There is a team by the name of “Green Bay Packers”, who reached a draw in 6 games, with a score of 3-3. He states that if they have this score after 6 games, it doesn’t mean that they can’t make the playoffs. He called other people who had stated that the “Green Bay Packers” could not make the playoffs as “overreactions”. He later partly walked back on his comments when he said that “it’s possible that they may not make the playoffs”. Perhaps his earlier statements were said in the heat of the moment, and maybe he felt that his commitment to impartiality was more important than publicly expressing an emotive position.
Having said that, it’s possible that a team that has merely played to a draw could reach the playoffs, so it may not have been an entirely emotive statement, it may have had some basis in facts and logic as well, perhaps it was just the way in which it was said that was the reason that he did a partial walk-back. This is on a six-week timeline.
Aaron Rodgers managed to hold off without Davante Adams, but just barely and this may not hold, even though his offense is strong all things considered.
That said, he has not been able to break any of his MVP records until now, which may leave the GBPs poorly placed to qualify for the playoffs. Yet, they still could, which is always a possibility, and Rich mentions not to write them off, they still have the number 12.
What Was The Reaction To His Statement?
It’s not clear how people and institutions reacted to his statements, as there don’t seem to be any definite statements for or against his seemingly bold and outspoken statement.
What follows is part speculation, partly educated guess. It’s possible that people and institutions invested in the sport he was outspoken about did a quiet appraisal. It is also possible that there are sources that highlight him walking back after some sort of “backlash”, “criticism” or “negative response”, although this does not seem to be the case right now.