By Jake Donovan
The New York Giants' post-season success has become boxing's worst nightmare, at least in New York.
For this weekend, it's enough of a hit, as the Roy Jones-Felix Trinidad "Bring on the Titans" HBO PPV card isn't even taking a back seat to the New York sports scene, but barely visible in the rearview mirror.
Absurd ticket prices have been the biggest cause for lack of box office activity – MSG officials described ticket sales as "brisk" before slashing prices across the board. But even with the reduced cover charge, there's apparently too much going in New York sports for boxing to generate the attention necessary to justify the price tag that comes with this weekend's show.
The biggest news coming out of the Big Apple is the New York Giants advancing to the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers after scoring an upset over longtime rivals, the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday. The win, which helped snap a 3-game losing streak against the 'Boys, was their 9 th straight on the road, marking the first time in NFL history any team has won nine road games, including the playoffs.
In pondering what it would take to make it ten straight, the main topics of discussion among the New York media: what the weather will be like in Green Bay this weekend (a predicted high of 7 degrees, with wind chill dropping it to sub-zero); how well the Giants have fared in frigid temperatures; and that the Packers have never lost an NFC Championship game at Lambeau Field.
The New York Daily News' coverage of the fight was showcased in Tim Smith's weekly column. In searching for it online, the story ranked 14 th in the list of top sports topics. In attempting to solicit a quote from the tabloid in relation to how the Giants' postseason success has detracted from coverage that would otherwise go toward the fight, the response given was, "It has?"
In other words, what we've been given so far is all we should've expected.
WFAN, the Tri-State area' leading sports talk radio station, briefly touched on the fight early this morning, but otherwise spent the day talking mostly about the Giants. Other topics of discussion throughout the day included, but not limited to: the Knicks, who've actually managed to win two straight; New England Patriots WR Randy Moss' recent brush with the law, and how it could affect the NFL's only perfect team this weekend against the San Diego Chargers; further discussion on the Mitchell Report; a 30-minute Q-and-A session with a former baseball agent who recently released a book…
Basically everything except Jones-Trinidad. Apparently, the 15-seconds of fame it received this morning was sufficient enough for the flagship station. Or so their response suggested when asked about their planned coverage.
"The fight was brushed upon this morning," mentioned their programming department, "but no, it's not something that would serve as the lead story."
What if the New York Giants weren't still in the playoffs?
"I can't answer that. Our daily programming is geared toward public interest. This time of year, everyone's interested in football, whether or not a New York team is in the playoffs."
A brief check at the New York Post finds that there's slightly more interest in the fight, with George Willis' article barely cracking their Top 10 list of sports topics this morning. His article? " Down for the Dis-count," discussing in full detail the Garden's decision to slash ticket prices, and just how much of their reported $8 million site fee they will still be able to recuperate.
The Post declined to comment on the amount of coverage they plan on providing for this weekend's show. New York Newsday failed to return phone calls, and for the moment has failed to tip off their readers that there's a fight in town this weekend.
Bring on the Titans? Chances are, those intimately and financially involved with this weekend's card are muttering to themselves, "Bring on the Packers."
Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. His column runs every Tuesday on BoxingScene.com.
Please feel free to submit any comments or questions to Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com.
