I'm sure I'm not alone among my fellow Jets fans when I admit I entered the NFL playoffs with low expectations. The team was schizophrenic throughout the season, playing brillantly one week, looking like absolute crap the next. Losing Kris Jenkins and Leon Washington halfway through the season. Led by a rookie quarterback with limited collegiate experience.
Their march into the playoffs was nice but not overwhelming, given the circumstances of the teams they were playing (although, as one of the fans on-hand Jan. 3 for a bitterly cold Sunday night win over the Bengals to get into the playoffs, they were well-earned victories. And now that I think of it, that was during my unannounced blogging hiatus so I never posted pictures. Here are a few - an excellent afternoon and evening of fun).
Anyway, I think most Jets fans entered the playoffs just happy to see their team actually at the party, an unexpected spot for a team declared dead by its own coach a mere three weeks earlier. While I enjoyed the nice opening-round win over Cincinnati, I tried to temper my expectations for the Jets' chances against San Diego and its 11-game winning streak Sunday.
We gathered with a melange of Jets-loving friends at our favorite local tavern to watch the game. After watching the Vikings take apart the Cowboys (enjoyable regardless of my feelings for Favre, which I'll get to shortly), we buckled down for what was sure to be a tense three hours of Jets v. Chargers.
And it was. Throughout the game, we felt the Jets could do it, it was just a matter of would they do it. They've led us to the brink of euphoria before, only to drop us off the cliff. So even as the game progressed and the Jets built a 10-point lead, I knew better than to get too wound up. When you're a Jets fan, you have seen it all, and now better than to celebrate until the fat lady has not only sung, but left the stage.
And then, she left the stage...
And chaos reigned in our local tavern...
Perhaps it's the years of heart-breaking losing ways that made this such an immensely enjoyable win. Maybe it's the idea that this isn't the same old Jets. Or could it be this team might actually be good enough to win it all?
Whatever the case, it was immediately added to the best moments of my lengthy career as a sports fan, joining the OSU Fiesta Bowl win in 2003 and the Mets' World Series in '86. Should the impossible happen and the Jets advance to the Super Bowl, I may need an oxygen tank and a heart monitor for the game. I will also have to remember to take the next day off from work...
As for His Holiness, I will admit to rooting for the Vikings despite my earlier vow to end it between us forevermore. It's dopey antics like this that almost suck me back in.
But rest assured ... should the Jets somehow advance to the Super Bowl and face the Vikings, I will not waver in my support of Gang Green. He had his chance.
Their march into the playoffs was nice but not overwhelming, given the circumstances of the teams they were playing (although, as one of the fans on-hand Jan. 3 for a bitterly cold Sunday night win over the Bengals to get into the playoffs, they were well-earned victories. And now that I think of it, that was during my unannounced blogging hiatus so I never posted pictures. Here are a few - an excellent afternoon and evening of fun).
Anyway, I think most Jets fans entered the playoffs just happy to see their team actually at the party, an unexpected spot for a team declared dead by its own coach a mere three weeks earlier. While I enjoyed the nice opening-round win over Cincinnati, I tried to temper my expectations for the Jets' chances against San Diego and its 11-game winning streak Sunday.
We gathered with a melange of Jets-loving friends at our favorite local tavern to watch the game. After watching the Vikings take apart the Cowboys (enjoyable regardless of my feelings for Favre, which I'll get to shortly), we buckled down for what was sure to be a tense three hours of Jets v. Chargers.
And it was. Throughout the game, we felt the Jets could do it, it was just a matter of would they do it. They've led us to the brink of euphoria before, only to drop us off the cliff. So even as the game progressed and the Jets built a 10-point lead, I knew better than to get too wound up. When you're a Jets fan, you have seen it all, and now better than to celebrate until the fat lady has not only sung, but left the stage.
And then, she left the stage...
And chaos reigned in our local tavern...
Perhaps it's the years of heart-breaking losing ways that made this such an immensely enjoyable win. Maybe it's the idea that this isn't the same old Jets. Or could it be this team might actually be good enough to win it all?
Whatever the case, it was immediately added to the best moments of my lengthy career as a sports fan, joining the OSU Fiesta Bowl win in 2003 and the Mets' World Series in '86. Should the impossible happen and the Jets advance to the Super Bowl, I may need an oxygen tank and a heart monitor for the game. I will also have to remember to take the next day off from work...
As for His Holiness, I will admit to rooting for the Vikings despite my earlier vow to end it between us forevermore. It's dopey antics like this that almost suck me back in.
But rest assured ... should the Jets somehow advance to the Super Bowl and face the Vikings, I will not waver in my support of Gang Green. He had his chance.
posted by jersey girl @ 3:46 PM
4 Comments:
At 1/21/2010 6:10 PM,
dph said…
You had to mention '86 - just when I was glad that you had dusted off your blog.
At 1/22/2010 9:08 AM,
jersey girl said…
I'm sorry to continue to pour salt in that wound. I would think it should be better given the Sox's success of late, no?
At 1/22/2010 12:03 PM,
dph said…
Absolutely. It's just that it comes up rarely enough that it feels like a slap in the face when it does.
At 1/22/2010 7:32 PM,
jersey girl said…
I'll try to refrain from bringing it up again for a year or so.
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