Fleener Takes on Media Day

Jan 28, 2014; Newark, NJ, USA; An overall view of the stadium during Media Day for Super Bowl XLIII at Prudential Center.

Photo by Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Colts TE Coby Fleener is a graduate of Stanford University and has a Masters degree in Media Studies.  His writing has been on display more than once, for he has his own blog and was a guest columnist for sports writer Peter King’s popular Monday Morning Quarterback (MMQB) column in 2012, when he documented his experience at the NFL Rookie Symposium.

Now, the MMQB column has its own website, and King asked Fleener back to act as a correspondent at this year’s Super Bowl. Fleener got to experience the inexplicable madness that is Media Day for himself, although he probably was not on the side of microphone that he would have preferred, since the Colts were ousted in the playoffs by the New England Patriots in the divisional round.

Fleener used his experiences as a player to give a new perspective on Media Day, saying players are “experts at the bland, clichéd response…because our jobs depend on it.” He gave his own interpretation of players’  responses at Media Day and asked players about their favorite clichéd responses to use. The result was a fun, well written column and an especially humorous feature video (follow the link and scroll to the bottom to watch).

With his playing experience, writing talent, and great personality, Fleener is definitely going to make a great sports reporter one day, but he also has many great years ahead in the NFL. Perhaps he will be back at Media Day – on the other side of the microphone – very soon.