Our Turn

There's an amazing pattern among New York sports fans. The large majority of New York fans fall into two groups: Yankees/Giants/Rangers fans and Mets/Jets/Islanders fans. While there may be some exceptions to this rule, most fans usually fall in line with this grouping. Why is this? Could be geography. Most people who grew up within the city limits are in the Yankees group while many suburban fans (especially on Long Island) lean toward the Mets group. It could be how long you and your family have been fans for since Group #1 is home to all of the traditional franchises that have been among the premier teams in their respective leagues since the early 1900's. Conversely none of the teams in group #2 were around before 1960. Regardless of how and why people are fans of these teams, there is one fact about these fans that cannot be denied. Group #2 never wins championships.....ever; in fact they rarely even play for a championship. If we take away the two hockey teams (since the Rangers have been MUCH less successful than the Islanders since the Isles started playing in 1972) you would find championship numbers that are just plain pathetic. Since 1962, (the first year that all four teams were playing at the same time) you would find that the Mets/Jets have won 3 championships while the Yankees/Giants have combined for 12. In fact, even if you threw in the amount of times the Mets/Jets have played for a championship it's still not close (12-5)

Not only does this give us insight into how poorly the former teams have been run for the past fifty years but it also tells us a lot about the psyche of the fans. Yankees/Giants fans expect to win championships on a regular basis, always assuming that they have the superior team. Mets/Jets fans are always waiting for the other shoe to drop, just one fumble or September collapse away from another off season of despair.

This brings us to the 2009 New York Jets.

Although we saw success with the rookie quarterback/rookie head coach experiments in Atlanta and Baltimore last year, I think it is fair to say that not much was expected of the Jets this year. I don't think that Jets fans thought they would suffer through a 4-12/3-13 type season but instead 8-8/9-7 would be more realistic, with both records leaving the Jets short of the playoffs (especially since an 11-5 Patriots team missed out last year.) While looking great at times- see the 3-0 start- the Jets were a source of frustration throughout the year. The list of bad losses runs long from both Miami games, the Bills game at the Meadowlands, Jacksonville and of course the week 15 loss to the Falcons. Hell that was so bad that the coach even eliminated his own team from the playoffs. But then Santa came and delivered a present that no Jets fan could have dreamed of..... a rookie quarterback from Purdue called Curtis Painter. When Bill Polian (yes I'm giving all the credit/blame to Polian not rookie head coach Jim Caldwell) decided to rest his starters all fortunes changed. I truly believe that there is no way that the 7-7 Jets team that walked into Indianapolis on December 27th would have beaten the Colts that day with Manning and company on the field for four quarters.

However, Peyton wasn't on the field for four quarters. Painter came in, the Jets took over and everything changed. Now the Jets are 11-7. They walk into Indianapolis on January 24th as a different team, having won four in a row including two playoff games on the road. The coach has gone out of his way to build this team up with everything from bold predictions to itineraries that include a victory parade. They believe, but do I?

I fall into the Mets/Jets/Islanders group mentioned above. I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop. In my life, I have two legitimate memories of my teams playing for the championship: the '86 and '00 Mets. While it's not fair to say the Jets have been terrible in my lifetime (especially in recent years), the Mets have pushed me to the point of insanity and the Islanders were the worst team in the NHL last year (although I am very confident about their future) Long story short, I'm always waiting for the worst, primarily because I have never experienced the best. I hate to say it but these Jets might be changing that. I was basically a giddy 6 year old after the San Diego game and I have been counting the minutes until Sunday's kick off since then.

The Jets are going to win on Sunday.

The best part is, I truly believe that. Maybe I'm just sick of watching my teams lose. Maybe it's what I have to believe when faced with the daunting prospect of facing Peyton Manning. Or maybe, just maybe, it's finally our turn. Either way, I can't wait for Sunday. I'm not going to think about how it's been a great season win or lose, I'm going to think about winning the AFC Championship. It's our turn.

Next stop Miami.

Jack is Back.....and I couldn't be happier

(Insert Clock Ticking Here)

As we enter the winter TV season (did this even exist 10 years ago? I thought all shows started in September) we see the return of two of my favorites: Lost and 24. Since Lost doesn't start for another two weeks and I'm probably not smart enough to write a good blog about the mysteries of Lost, I'll start with 24.

I started watching 24 after getting season 1 on DVD off Netflix back in 2002. I loved Season 1. The introduction of the "happening in real time" format, the action and suspense and of course one of the greatest surprises/twists in television history with Nina Myers, all made season 1 one of my favorite seasons of television ever. Over time I got a few people hooked on the show, including my parents with whom "Jack" on Mondays became a winter tradition. Although the show has its good seasons and bad seasons, I love Jack Bauer and so should you. What have we learned through the first four hours of Day 8? Let's take a look. (Side note before you start, 24 seasons are referred to as "Days" since they all happen in 24 hours.....terrible? Not for me!)

We start by looking at the man himself: Jack Bauer. This season opens up with "Grandpa" Jack babysitting his granddaughter. Stop right there. The Jack Bauer I know and love is a cold blooded, win at all costs federal agent. No one wants to see Grandpa Jack. We want the man who tortured his own brother, got so deep undercover that he became a heroin addict and would probably waterboard his own mother in order to get "THE TRUTH!" I was thrilled to see him bury an ax in that guy's chest during the first hour but was a little upset that he wasn't on board when Renee cut that Russian's hand off at the end of hour four. Hopefully, Jack will turn it around over the next twenty weeks.

The highlight of the first four hours was definetely the introduction of the new characters. In the interest of time and reader boredom, I'll focus on three.

President Hassan
President Hassan gives us the leader of a radical Islamic state that is open to talks with the United States over nuclear proliferation. This is an interesting character considering the current state of our world and shows that the writers and producers can incorporate real world issues into the show. However, I was completely taken out of it by constantly thinking about becoming a MILLON-AIR! I'm sure Anil Kapoor will have a fine career but I all I could do during the first episode was think of ways to mix President Hassan with his character from "Slumdog Millionaire" such as "When President Hassan leaves office he could write a book that would make him a MILLON-AIR!" or "If his wife finds out that President Hassan is cheating on her with that reporter, the divorce settlement will make her a MILLON-AIR!" Also, I always love the fictional country that they create for these world leaders. My wife deemed President Hassan to be from Quagistan but after a little research it looks like he's from "Kamistan." (It goes without saying that I prefer Kate's by far.) I would love to see them choose a real country and stick with it. I mean they have no problem picking on the Russians! During Hour Four, we again learned that the Russians have their dirty, commy hands in this one. Why is it that they can't name a real Middle Eastern country but they can always drag "The Russians" in? Twenty years after the fall of the Iron Curtain and it's still the god damn Russians!

Cole Ortiz
Freddie Prinze Jr. reprises the same basic role that we see each year. The young CTU hot shot that gets to work with Jack. We can only hope he can pull it off as well as "Cut Your Arm Off" Chase from Day 3 or Rick "Don't call me Ricky" Schroeder in Day 6. I'm hoping Day 9 will bring us either Josh Hartnett or if we're really lucky Chris Klein.

Dana Walsh
Had to save my favorite- and most ridiculous- character for last. Dana Walsh is a Senior Data Analyst at CTU New York who is hiding a secret past including a former identity. What is her secret? Well her van driving white trash ex-boyfriend or perhaps her single-mother sister will let us know. Either way, it's absolutely ridiculous. Now I'm not one who goes out of his way to find plot holes, but I'm having a tough time accepting that someone who works for the Counter-Terrorist Unit wouldn't have some type of background check done on her. Is there no type of vetting process for a federal agent??? Additionally, who gets harassed/stalked and threatened by ex, but then proceeds to give him the keys to her place? It's clear that the ex boyfriend angle is this season's version of the "unneccessary storyline" that was previously taken by the director of CTU has a crazy daughter in Day Four and Wayne Palmer is president in Day Six.

Other highlights? The always fantastic Chloe O'Brian (again played perfectly by Mary-Lynn Rajskub), the bit roles from the cable TV all stars especially Captain David Aceveda from "The Shield" and Vincent Chase's scumbag cousin from Entourage and finally Bubba Gump himself as the head of CTU New York. When you throw in a mentally unstable Renee Walker sawing hands off while undercover with the Russians and the rumored return of President Charles Logan, I know that I will be enjoying Day 9.

(Insert clock ticking here)

Pretending I Know Stuff About Football

Whether it's the way we here in the United States define it (with the oblong shaped ball) or the way the rest of the world does (where you can only play the ball with the foot), football is dominating my sports world right now.

A quick blurb about soccer before we get to the big story. Liverpool's terrible 09/10 campaign has finally hit a nadir after being bounced out of the FA Cup by Reading in the 3rd round at Anfield. So to recap, the Reds have now been knocked out of the Champions League, the FA Cup and currently sit 7th in the league. Prediction? The slide continues and ends with one or both of Benitez and Torres departing at the end of the year. On the opposite end we have Manchester City (my adopted English team) who have a new manager, are on a four match winning streak and are now fourth in the League. Although they haven't beaten any teams of quality over the last four, they seem to have a new spark under Mancini. When you throw in the play of Carlos Tevez (recently named Premier League player of the month) and the transfer addition of Patrick Vieria things are looking good for the other Manchurian team. Prediction? The Citizens win the Carling Cup and finish 3rd in the League ahead of Arsenal.

Now, onto the big stuff.

How about those Jets. Dominating offensive performance on Saturday, especially since they left 10 points on the field thanks to penalties and Braylon Edwards, the man who can't catch a cold (I made that one up myself.....like it????). The defense was good but not great -almost 200 yards rushing- but they got the job done when they needed to. Now, as we move our sights west to San Diego, we as Jets fans are like the kid standing with his toes curling off the edge of the high dive. We want to believe that we can jump but we just can't commit ourselves to doing it. We don't want to admit that there's a tiny piece of us that believes we might be on the verge of a magical run ala the '07 Giants. This is the beauty of Jets fans. To paraphrase my buddy (and Jets season ticketholder) George, Jets fans are idiots because they get insanely overly optimistic after one win and then complain that the team let them down when they eventually lose. Would I be surprised if the Jets go down on Sunday? Absolutely not. The Chargers are a first class offensive team, playing at home, that hasn't lost since October. However, with the running game working the way it is and Norv Turner on the other sideline I'm going to be the aformentioned idiot Jets fan and predict a Jets victory and a trip to the AFC Championship game. This victory will allow Jets fans to take that plunge and make us believe that this is truly our year, which will inevitably lead to the crushing, heartbreaking loss that defines out existence as Jets fans .

Can't wait for Sunday.