Don, Hahn & Rosenberg – “Hour 1: The NY Market”

ESPN New York | October 30, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the pressures of being an athlete in the New York market, with Alan Hahn, Don La Greca (calling in from the road), and Peter Rosenberg discussing how expectations, media scrutiny, and organizational leadership shape the success and struggles of local teams and their stars. The trio debates whether New York is uniquely challenging, how team decisions are impacted by the city’s relentless environment, and what it takes for quarterbacks and franchise players (from Daniel Jones to Knicks' stars) to thrive here. They intersperse insightful sports talk with personal stories, playful banter, and audience calls.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Updates and New York Weather

• Peter made a show of dedicating himself to be physically in the studio despite crazy rain—“It’s Ghostbusters outside. It is madness, but I’m here.” (00:22)
• Don is on the West Coast for work, finds malls and “Yard House” feel the same everywhere, even abroad—“You go to a mall...you’ll feel like you’re in any place USA, doesn’t matter where you are.” (02:47)
• Alan is remote to attend his daughter’s volleyball playoff—“I'm just not taking a snow day, but just doing a remote day so I could see her play perhaps for the last time as a high school volleyball player.” (01:40)

2. Quarterbacks and the NY Market — The Daniel Jones Debate

The Setup

• Peter introduces the Daniel Jones discussion: Why do quarterbacks struggle to “make it” in New York? (06:17)
• Jason McCourty clip: Daniel Jones thriving with the Colts is contrasted against his NY tenure. (07:01)

Franchise Failure vs. Market Pressure

• Alan’s Take: Not about the market, but the Giants’ leadership failing Daniel Jones.

  • “From the day Dable showed up, Daniel Jones was treated like the redhead stepchild…You have you, but we don’t really want you…Success comes when opportunity and preparation meet. And that’s exactly what happened for Daniel Jones.” (08:36-10:38)

• Don’s Nuance: The NY “franchise pressure” sets everything on edge—even decisions about who plays or stays.

  • “Everything the Giants did with him is because it's New York. Is Dable all over him because he's feeling the dogs at the door?...You can’t have the slow burn other organizations can have.” (11:03-12:18)

• Peter: Suggests the real issue is how the coaches/GMs react to the market pressure: “Trickles down” organizationally. (13:10)

Notable Quote:

“It’s not, ‘I can’t handle New York and the pressure that New York gives us.’ It’s…how the organization handles Daniel Jones, the pressure to win from within because of where you are.”
— Don Hahn (11:25)

3. Big Market Teams and Organizational Response to Pressure

• Don illustrates with Rangers/Devils: Rangers had to accelerate their rebuild due to media/fan urgency (“We’re on Broadway and we’ve got to take advantage of that” (13:15)).
• The group compares pressures on Giants, Yankees, Knicks, etc., versus franchises elsewhere (e.g., more patience for the Devils).
• Alan: Some athletes (Eli Manning, Jalen Brunson) are “vaults” unaffected by outside noise, but “some people, it just eats them alive and they can’t avoid the criticism.” (17:32-18:18)
  • “How do you find those guys? And do you pass up on a mega-talent because...he’ll never make it in this town? But then he goes somewhere else and he’s a legend.” (18:44)
• Notable Advice: Organization must both choose talent and create support structures—leadership must buffer the noise.

Don on Organizational Approach:

“Don’t listen to the fans, don’t listen to the media. Be stronger than that. Let them cry...We are going to be on our timetable. We’re going to do it the way we want to do it.” (19:12)

4. Media, Fan Intensity, and the Back Page

Is NY’s Media More Brutal?

• Peter: Claims the back page/tabloid culture makes NYC uniquely hard for athletes.

  • “You could be in a really big market...but Monday morning you might have your face with a clever, obnoxious pun about how bad you suck on the back page of a paper on Monday.” (47:04)

• Alan Pushes Back: Asserts that Boston, Philly, Chicago all have tabloid culture, intense sports radio, hardcore coverage, and have still produced champion teams.

  • “Somehow (Boston teams) survived...WEII and all the madness and the callers and the frustration...You know why? They had good leadership.” (48:07-48:44)

• Don’s Counterpoint: New York’s “double teams” per sport create extra pressure—Yankees/Mets, Giants/Jets, etc. “More pressure to make sure that we don’t have our headlines stolen away from the other team.” (49:31-50:41)

  • “In New York, you have that...At the end of the day, they still own the town for that sport. Yankees own the town, for sure. But the Mets are a thing. They don’t want to get Mets better than them.” (49:37-50:41)
  • Alan challenges: having two teams may “dilute intensity,” Don insists it “adds to the pressure.”

Notable Exchange

Peter: “Is there a big tabloid in Boston?”
Alan: “Oh my goodness, yes...The Herald...”
Peter: “Does Philadelphia have a tablet?”
Alan: “The Inquirer. They have the Daily News!” (47:39-48:04)

5. Calls and Listener Feedback

• Manny in Flushing: Says “playing in New York…is one of the toughest jobs in America”—details third-quarter Knicks woes and market expectations. (34:59-37:15)
• Show Hosts: Gently roast overly lengthy calls—“Let’s take your call, not your mission statement...You just can’t take the wheel and ride a few laps and drive us into a damn river embankment.” (37:27-38:11)
• Ian in Hoboken: Calls for axing Giants’ coach and GM, arguing the team is undisciplined; hosts note the need for a plan before making drastic changes. (38:55-41:30)

6. Lighter Moments & Off-Topic Banter

• Brownies & Carlin’s Corner: Extended discussion about brownies left in the studio, food as bonding. (05:03-06:17)
• Kids’ Halloween costumes, family life: Light family chat, including embarrassing musical gaps from Rosenberg—“I didn’t grow up on [Credence Clearwater Revival]...” (27:46-28:47)
• Parenting and New York Metaphors:
  • “You’re a team in New York and the outside noise, like the media and the fans, are telling you to have another child quickly, and you’re like, ‘No, I’m not ready.’”
    — Don, tying Peter’s family choices to market pressure (34:07)

7. The Issue of Leadership vs. Market Mystique

• Alan: “I think we take leadership off...and blame it on media and fans. It is about leadership.” (52:05)
• Don: Asserts it’s a combination, but emphasizes if organizations could “ignore the noise,” they’d succeed.
• Ongoing debate about whether NY “noise” truly derails teams, or if the real issue is poor decision-making by leadership.

Closing zinger:

“We walk into training camp going, ‘Wow, this could be a good team. How are we going to screw it up? Let’s ruin it.’...No, you don’t do that.”
— Alan, tongue-in-cheek on media blame (52:22)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:22 – Peter’s heroic drive through torrential NY rain
• 01:40 – Alan explains remote broadcast (daughter’s playoff game)
• 06:17 – Introduction to Daniel Jones/quarterback discussion
• 07:01 – Jason McCourty’s take on Daniel Jones’ Colts resurgence
• 08:36-10:38 – Alan’s argument: Giants failed Jones, not NY pressure itself
• 11:03-13:10 – Don on the pressure exerted by coaches/management due to NY urgency
• 13:15-14:16 – Rangers/Devils as case study for NY pressure vs. patience
• 17:32-18:44 – Alan: “How do you find those [immune to NY pressure] guys?”
• 47:04-48:44 – Peter vs. Alan on the “back page” as unique NY experience
• 49:31-50:41 – Don: Extra pressure from multiple teams in each NY sport
• 34:59-38:11 – Calls from Manny and hosts’ reaction
• 38:55-41:30 – Ian’s call: “blow it up” the Giants

Memorable Quotes

• Alan Hahn (on Daniel Jones vs. Giants):

  “From the day Dable showed up, Daniel Jones was treated like the redhead stepchild…Success comes when opportunity and preparation meet.” (08:36-10:38)

• Don Hahn (organizational pressure):

  “There is a cloud that hangs over not all the New York franchises, but the big ones...where it’s just different. And the decisions that you make are because of where you are.” (12:18-14:16)

• Peter Rosenberg (back page culture):

  “You could be in a...market...but Monday morning you might have your face with a clever, obnoxious pun about how bad you suck on the back page.” (47:04)

• Don Hahn (multiple franchises):

  “There’s another team in every sport that’s also competing for the back page, also competing for relevancy...That makes New York even more unique.” (49:31-49:58)

• Alan Hahn (media doesn’t conspire):

  “We walk into training camp going, ‘Wow, this could be a good team. How are we going to screw it up? Let’s ruin it.’ No, you don’t do that.” (52:22)

Episode Tone & Style

The tone is quintessentially New York: fast-moving, demanding, irreverent, but deeply informed. Banter, self-deprecation, inside references, and sometimes veering into playful bickering—while never losing sight of sports as a reflection of city culture. The hosts balance sharp analysis with relatable talk radio camaraderie.

Conclusion

This lively installment of Don, Hahn & Rosenberg unpacks why winning in New York is so fraught, balancing theories about market pressure, management strategy, media culture, and the character of athletes themselves. The takeaway: the city’s expectations are sky-high and the scrutiny is real, but smart leadership and the right kind of player can withstand—and even thrive—in the hottest spotlight in sports.