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.