Hello California pretty boy with a decent arm and a one-year marketing campaign that propelled you into the first round of the NFL Draft. Meet Gotham City.
For you, this may be a situation of boy meets the real world.
No more basking in the California sun with a margarita in one hand and a babe in the other. Get ready for unflattering pictures and disturbing headlines on the back cover of the New York Post.
The Pete Carroll Program for Making Good Looking Quarterbacks Look Amazing (PCP-MGLQLA) is no longer in his favor. Have fun playing for a first-time head coach that emphasizes defense.
The athletic, superior players he had while playing for the most talented college team in the nation are no longer available for him to utilize. Now he must lead a team that has productive, but not overly reliable, players to the playoffs to satisfy fans that are quick to judge.
It's also a team that failed to lift Brett Favre to a postseason berth. Could the talent help out a rookie quarterback overcome odds and bring them to the playoffs?
Mark Sanchez, time to go to work.
Sanchez played the system well at USC. After being a star recruit in 2005, Sanchez was forced to tan in the sun for his first three seasons while Matt Leinart and John David Booty shined and improved their draft stocks.
Despite this, Sanchez gained the reputation as USC's future charismatic gunslinger. Not even a sexual assault case brought upon him by a female USC student could derail Sanchez's quest as the Trojans' poster boy quarterback.
The well-articulated Trojan from Long Beach said and did the right things as a scout-quarterback and then later as a backup.
And once he was named USC's starting quarterback, Sanchez thrived. But who wouldn't? Numerous pro prospects helping you succeed, a system that guarantees success and a likeable image that was presented on every mass media outlet in the country.
If only we were all so lucky.
Even the Latino community grew quite a liking towards the third generation Mexican-American. He became the unofficial spokesperson and role model for the Latino community despite the fact that he cannot speak to Hispanic reporters without the use of a translator.
Maybe Italian-Americans should induct Dan Marino as their so-called model athlete and spokesperson.
Numerous fans were fooled by the ploy. You would think NFL scouts would look past the likeable image Sanchez displayed and criticize his Pennington-like arm strength, his durability and his questionable decision making under pressure.
When you are a team in New York City that just failed an experiment with Brett Favre and looking to find a nice PR story, you get desperate enough for a laughable trade and a reach.
So the Jets traded up and stacked their chips on the Chico. Did they know that Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy - all quarterbacks with more credible traits than Sanchez - were available for the taking next year?
Sure, the drafting of Sanchez will help the Jets look good during the near future.
But New York City's second NFL team could very well experience a long-term epic fail.
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
