Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and the 10 Most Polarizing NFL Players Right Now
The NFL is filled with polarizing athletes. If you search hard enough, you'll find message-boards filled with constant back-and-forths about a certain player.
In order to be polarizing, an NFL player must have a strong fan-base and a strong opposition to boot. There must be a clear divide between the two sides, often labelled across the Internet as the "jockers" and the "haters."
(I'm a Kobe/LeBron hater/jocker, so I would know.)
Through the years, the Internet has fueled this polarization in regards to a certain group of players. Oftentimes, these players are superstars, or are young athletes who have a ton of potential and have yet to realize it.
It should be noted that this list is consisted of nothing but wide receivers and quarterbacks. And that's not because it was my choice -- I blame it on you, dear reader, for loving/hating players who play on the most popular positions in football.
Regardless, we have the 10 most polarizing NFL athletes right here, in order from the least polarizing to the most polarizing.
Go on. Click away.
10. Mark Sanchez, New York Jets
1 of 10
Mark Sanchez fits the bill of a "polarizing athlete" perfectly.
Sanchez has succeeded just enough to gain some ground with born-again Jets' fans, but he's faltered enough to lose some favor with some NFL fanatics.
It also helps that the Jets are one of the least-liked teams in the league. What helps further is his ties to the Latino community.
That's because Mark Sanchez is the first, full-blooded Mexican-American in the NFL. Chicanos across the nation don Sanchez jerseys, because of Sanchez's pride for his heritage.
The Sanchez-haters don't gain favor with Chicanos. Whether racism is involved is beyond me — I haven't seen a poll about Sanchez's ethnicity affecting how people perceive him as an NFL player. However, there's a fair amount of people who believe that Sanchez-haters are racist.
Can you tell just how polarizing Sanchez is?
(Note: I support Mark Sanchez, but I don't think his doubters are racist; he's a flighty quarterback and can be detrimental to his teams at worst and the reason they're winning games at best.)
Regardless, the strong opposition and the strong support that Sanchez receives is pretty evident of the quarterback's polarity.
9. Eli Manning, New York Giants
2 of 10
Eli Manning had one great play in the 2007 Super Bowl, Eli-haters might say.
But he's also had three great years as a starter, Eli fanatics might add.
Eli's performance is just one of his polarizing characteristics. While he's played well overall, his inconsistency from game to game is frustrating.
You can blame this polarity on the 2004 NFL Draft. When Eli Manning was selected first overall, yet refused to play for the San Diego Chargers (the team who selected him), NFL fans across the nation were outraged.
Of course, New York Giants' fans didn't mind. But when his play left something to be desired, Giants fans grew angry, and Charger fans grew a smile.
Then, he threw a prayer to David Tyree in the 2007 Super Bowl against the then-undefeated New England Patriots. The rest is history. Kind of.
Since that time, Eli Manning has gotten better. But those who gained respect for Eli afterwards were met with opposition from the Eli-naysayers.
And now, he's here on this list of most polarizing athletes in the NFL.
8. Randy Moss, Tennessee Titans
3 of 10
You can't question Randy Moss' freakish talents and output when he's playing well.
And you can't question all of his character issues, either.
Randy Moss has had a Hall of Fame career. But you can't deny he's had some legendary meltdowns.
Moss fans and and Moss doubters can't see both, though.
Randy Moss elicits a strong sense of awe on the football field; he's extremely exciting to watch when he's playing well. But he awes us in a poor sense, too. Because after he's done magically moving about the football field, he's often giving his coach or his quarterback dirty looks.
A ton of NFL fans can look past his issues and hope he'll join their favorite team when he becomes available. A second ton of fans refuse to believe he can produce, focusing in on his tirades. This earned him the label "punk."
This case is particularly sad because both sides are right. He's insanely talented, even at his age, but is a negative influence in any locker-room.
If only things were different.
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7. Terrell Owens, Cincinnati Bengals
4 of 10
Talk about polarity.
Terrell Owens is in the same boat with Randy Moss. Both wide outs are loud-mouthed, but they also produce big-time numbers wherever they're at.
Terrell Owens has had tough times recently, bouncing from team to team, going through coaches like women and children go through cash (and men go through beer).
That's reason number one he's so polarizing.
The others? He's horribly dramatic and seemingly loves the spotlight a little bit too much. He wants it to be known by the entire league if he's happy or upset.
But you can't deny his numbers because, let's face it, he's had a Hall of Fame career. Hands down.
Terrell Owens is hard as hell to work with, but he's also one of the best receivers this game has seen.
Terrible situation, isn't it?
6. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
5 of 10
Ben Roethlisberger wasn't all that polarizing 18 months ago. He was an exciting quarterback who earned a reputation as a hard worker and a tough-as-nails football player. The dude had been threw windshields and Super Bowls, and no one had a problem with that.
But the rape allegations against him last year changed everything.
Big Ben Roethlisberger was accused of sexual assault in 2010 (as well as in 2009 to total two sexual assault allegations). And while Big Ben was already a winner, these types of lawsuits tend to completely destroy positive public perception of any athlete, whether or not there's validity in the claims.
And those Roethlisberger fans who forgave him have pointed to his winning ways despite his adversities. Those that can't look past his flaws have deemed his actions unforgivable and do not attribute his success to his play.
The fan-base for Big Ben Roethlisberger isn't very vocal nor united, but it's enough for the opposition to let their voices be heard, against the grain, whenever possible.
5. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
6 of 10
Matt Ryan has had three great seasons to start off his NFL career, making the Pro Bowl last season while winning Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2008. He's also never been on a losing team so far, three years into his career, helping his Atlanta Falcons post records of 11-5, 9-7, and 13-3 in 2008, 2009, and 2010, respectively.
However, he's also been on teams that have had top-tier ground games and defenses that have seen multiple Pro Bowlers take the field. Dude is stacked with talent and is fortunate to be in such a situation.
That, of course, attributes a ton to the fact that he's a polarizing athlete in the NFL. Matt Ryan's fans say that it's because of him the team is so good — his ability to sustain long drives makes offenses cold and the Falcons' defense look that much better.
His naysayers, though, tell a different tale.
The Ryan doubters feel as if he's simply a game manager, making plays when he needs to and nothing more. Despite his numbers, NFL analysts and fans that aren't impressed with Ryan say he's this generation's Trent Dilfer, being just good enough to get by, but not good enough to be considered a top-tier quarterback.
Both sides have merit, for sure, but there's no way to substantially disprove either side's theory.
The fact that Ryan has strong support and strong opposition, both based purely on his play, makes him deserving of a spot on this list.
4. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts
7 of 10
With success comes opposition.
Peyton Manning has arguably been the best quarterback of the 2000s. He's had a surefire, two-times-over Hall of Fame career that is unrivaled by 99 percent of any other quarterback who has ever taken the field.
He changed the game, in his own right, further pushing the notion that this is, indeed, a quarterback's league. If you want exciting and great, look no further than Peyton Manning.
That said, his success hurts him, too. While his fans recognize his achievements, the opposition recognizes something that is clearly the biggest, most glaring hole in Peyton Manning's career.
His playoff performances.
They haven't been horrible; in fact, you can argue that they've been, collectively, above average. But when you perform above average on the biggest stage in the league despite performing at a legendary level in the regular season, people start to wonder and doubt. Those are the "Manning-haters."
People cannot stand seeing Manning play so well, because they can almost guarantee he won't play that way for an entire postseason.
His fans, though, see it differently.
Those who can't get enough of Peyton will tell you that he's quite possibly the best quarterback this game has ever seen. No one's posted the numbers he has, and no one's emulated his spirit and dedication to the game in a technical sense.
But he can't do it in the playoffs, his naysayers will rebuttal.
Both sides make a ton of sense and you can make an argument for Peyton Manning being the greatest quarterback of all time (what the Internet abbreviates as the "GOAT"), but you can also make an argument against it.
It's no wonder, now, Peyton Manning is so polarizing.
3. Tim Tebow, Denver Broncos
8 of 10
Tim Tebow has had strong opposition and a strong fan-base since he started gaining recognition as the starter at Florida. The dude's a proven winner, but he's also an extremely nice guy and a devout Christian who's claimed he's still a virgin and plans to stay that way until he's married.
Of course, his constant success has helped others 1) hate the SEC college football conference and 2) hate him.
The women love him, too. And considering the majority of football fans are men, there's also probably a hint of jealousy in the men who resent him. (Note: Not me.)
His fans, though, respect his demeanor and his winning attitude.
The biggest argument the opposition has against Tebow includes his future success in the NFL. Hundreds of thousands of college football fans want to see him struggle, while millions of NFL fans are so sure his success in college football won't translate to success at the professional level.
One way to tell that Tim Tebow is polarizing, though, statistically? He had the top-selling jersey in the NFL in the month he was drafted and rounded out the 2010 season as the third best-selling jersey of the season. To compare, LeBron James, one of the most hated athletes in all of sports last year, had the best-selling jersey in the NBA.
Ouch.
2. Tom Brady, New England Patriots
9 of 10
If you really need to know to figure out how polarizing Tom Brady is, is to combine the polarizing ability of Matt Ryan and Tim Tebow.
Tom Brady has been the subject of a ton of criticism among the average Internet-savvy NFL fan. Naughty, four-letter words (although the oft-used word is five letters and describes your male dog's girlfriend) are thrown vicariously in place of Brady's name.
The opposition has this on him: He's played on damn good teams and has won accolades because of the talent surrounding him. And when he isn't on very good teams Tom Brady doesn't win Super Bowls or, as is the case the past three years, win any playoff games.
The Brady proponents realize that though he's had talent around him, Brady has performed at a Hall of Fame level because he knows how to utilize his resources better than anyone else. He's won Super Bowls thanks to his clutch drives and level-headed play during times when the Pats are against the wall, Brady fans would say.
And the jealousy factor comes into play, considering he has a hot supermodel wife in Giselle Bundchen and has women drooling across the country. That is despite his recent endorsement of UGG boots.
Overall, Tom Brady is a Hall of Famer. Whether that's because of his play alone or the fact that he's been fortunate enough to play on good teams is another story entirely.
1. Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles
10 of 10
It's tough coming out of prison to find a job. It's tough to succeed when you have millions — literally millions — of people hoping, praying for you to fail, to go back to your ways and to suffer much like the way you have caused suffering.
But Michael Vick has done it. He was the second-leading vote-getter in the MVP voting last season. His play was a huge reason the Eagles made the playoffs last season. He forced defensive schemes to adjust radically to his stunning play.
And yet, we all still own dogs.
The cruelty of the crime he committed is evident: He mangled, murdered and tortured dogs, forcing them to fight one another for kicks and giggles. He held a huge operation in his home and his reputation was tainted. We all thought his career was over, and that he would never play football in the NFL again.
We were wrong.
The opponents are most likely members of PETA or dog-lovers. Or, well, the Atlanta Falcon fan whom his middle finger was directed at back in his days in Georgia. His success early on was odd, because he didnt' succeed as a quarterback as much as he did an impromptu running back.
His proponents are generally die-hard NFL fans who love to watch a show because, ohmygoodness, does he put on a show.
Whatever the case is, Michael Vick is easily the face of the phrase "most-hated athlete in the NFL." But just because he's the most hated, doesn't mean he doesn't have a strong support group that can't get enough of his play.
That concludes the list, but what say you? Does everyone that's on this list deserve to be on the list? Who did I miss? Do you personally have any beef with one of these NFL stars, or would you like to back one of them up?
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