MEET THE NEW 'BACHELOR' -- GIANTS QB JESSE PALMER
And we always thought the NFL was Reality Television. Maybe not, at least for New York Giants quarterback Jesse Palmer. The WB's pop-culture offensive coordinator Dan Shanoff compares Palmer's life as a backup QB to his new life as "The Bachelor."
Sports meets reality | By Dan Shanoff
Who is Jesse Palmer? A fair question: Just an anonymous career NFL backup, until ... he became ... The Bachelor.
The Giants QB will be the next "Bachelor," shifting his life from the drudgery of carrying clipboards and sending in signals to the "fast lane" of carrying roses and feeling out signals from two dozen women he's never met -- and who know nothing about him -- who want to be his wife.
What other changes will Palmer find as he goes from "Backup" to "Bachelor"? Some ideas:
| JESSE PALMER: BACKUP QB VS. THE BACHELOR | ||
| Category | Backup | Bachelor |
| Celebrity status | Benchwarmer |
"B-List" |
| "Pass rating" | 59.8 (career) | Women dismissed per show |
| Canadian | Don't want to play at home | Foreigner's cachet |
| Mentor | Giants starter Kerry Collins | Bachelor host Chris Harrison |
| "Gotcha, Coach!" | Video-enabled cell phones | Camera-enabled cell phones |
| Scary thought | Pass rush |
Always one rose too few |
| Dating high point | Sue Bird | Still to come |
| Fantasy highlight | Week 17 (12 points) | Week 1 (25 women) |
| Idol | Joe Montana | Bachelor Bob |
| Favorite team growing up | Bears | Bachelorettes |
| Leisure activity | Watching movies | Uncovering catty women's hidden motives |
| Favorite TV show | South Park, Simpsons | Umm ... The Bachelorette? |
| Claim to fame | Only Canadian QB in NFL | Made the NFL, unlike Ryan (of Ryan and Trista) |
| Not likely to be happy | Jim Fassel | Tom Coughlin |
| What's next? | Career uncertainty | Reality TV oblivion |