Friday, January 21, 2011

With a few exceptions the Jets have always taken a back seat to the Giants and sometimes even the Eagles when it comes to football fans in the shore area. The Giants go back to the 1920’s and are one of the NFL’s storied franchises. Of course winning 7 championships, including three Super Bowls has helped and there are many families with three generations of fans who have cheered, attended
and given their heart and soul to the “big blue.”

The Jets weren’t even the Jets when they were born in the old American Football League in 1960. Originally they were the Titans and played their first couple of seasons in the old Polo Grounds. After just three years the team was on the verge of bankruptcy before Sonny Werblin came along and purchased the club, renamed them and a year later moved them into brand-new Shea Stadium. Things really started getting better after they drafted a young quarterback by the name of Joe Namath out of Alabama in 1965 and in December of 1968 they beat the Oakland Raiders to win their first AFL Championship. It earned them a date in Super Bowl III where they shocked the Baltimore Colts in a game that more than any other forced the merger between the two leagues. With a young Namath there were many who expected the Jets to thrive but after losing in the playoffs the following year they would not have a winning season and get back to the playoffs again until 1981. Ironically the Giants were also pretty bad during this stretch which resulted in year after year of frustration for local football fans….it was during this time when teams like the Cowboys & Steelers became so popular.

Anyway since winning the Super Bowl in 1969 the Jets have three times come one game short of getting back to the big game. They lost the AFC Championship to
the Dolphins in 1983, the Broncos in 1999 and the Colts just last season. Like in those other three games they are road underdogs as they prepare to battle the Steelers in Pittsburgh Sunday Night but their bandwagon of followers and believers is growing. While I personally find them a tough team to root for you can’t take away from what they have done the last two weeks and longtime fans
of the green and white believe this is their time to shine. I certainly wouldn’t bet against them but I think we’re headed to a Steelers-Packers Super Bowl. Of course I also picked against the Jets when they played the Colts & Patriots so that’s a good omen for Rex Ryan and company.