Broadway | Jason Klein

By Jason Klein

“I’ve heard it said, that people come into our lives for a reason.”

After arriving in New York, Aaron Rodgers saw Wicked on Broadway and heard Glinda deliver this iconic line. The future hall of fame quarterback came to the Jets for one very specific reason. He’s here to make sure the historically cursed franchise has been changed for good.

It’s been 55 years since another Broadway star, Joe Willie, secured the franchise’s only Super Bowl victory. Namath defied gravity – and the odds – to add that lonely Lombardi to the trophy case. Since then, our fanbase has been tortured, teased and tormented in the cruelest of ways. We’ve been mocked and mistreated. We’ve been baited and beaten. We’ve been disappointed, disillusioned and disgruntled.

Unless you’ve rooted for the New York Jets, or you’re another notoriously green outcast named Elphaba, there’s no way you can possibly understand. You can’t empathize with our inferiority complex or comprehend our constant sense of doom.

Somehow, Aaron Rodgers gets it, though. Maybe because he knows what it’s like to live in darkness. This spring, Rodgers spent a few days in the dark. Jets fans have spent a few decades there. Together, they will try to see the light.

This isn’t the first time we’ve been promised a brighter future, though.

Ken O’Brien had his moments. Browning Nagle never did. Boomer Esiason and Neil O’Donnell had big reputations, but little success. Vinny Testaverde got close. Chad Pennington got hurt. Mark Sanchez got Tebow’d. Geno Smith got punched. Sam Darnold got mono. Zach Wilson got the yips.

This time will be different. It has to be, right?

Aaron Rodgers is a 4-Time MVP and a Super Bowl Champion. He’s the most accomplished and talented quarterback the team has ever had. He also genuinely wants to be here! Since the moment he announced that his “intention was to play for the New York Jets,” he’s embraced everything that goes along with it. The expectations, the media, the fans, the mentorship role, the Hard Knocks, the city and the history. He isn’t just the new face of the team. He’s the new face of the entire franchise.

Give him a shovel. He’s the right guy to finally bury the “Same Old Jets” and change our sad narrative.

No more Fake Spikes and Butt Fumbles. Put the Heidi Game on hiatus and dig out of the Miami mud. It’s time to say goodbye to shovel passes and seeing ghosts.

We’re done talking about Gastineau’s gaffe in Cleveland and Byars’ fumble in Denver. We’ve had enough of the Idzik 12, burner accounts and googly-eyed head coaches. It’s time to finally heal from Favre’s torn biceps, Chad’s torn shoulder and Vinny’s torn Achilles.

Let’s focus on Garrett Wilson, Sauce Gardner and Breece Hall and stop talking about Vernon Gholston, Blair Thomas and Dee Milliner. Tell homie-hoppers to bounce and give foot fetishes the boot.

Crumple up that “HC of the NYJ” napkin and toss it along with Lou Holtz, Rich Kotite and Adam Gase. While we’re at it, give Namath’s interview with Suzy Kolber a big kiss goodbye.

No more Pick 6’s, PSLs or Peyton Manning advice. We’re done rooting for top draft picks and flying planes over practice. We’ve had “too much Tebow” and not enough real “brilliant offensive minds.”

We’re tired of twitching over Leon Johnson’s pass in Detroit and Doug Brien’s kicks in Pittsburgh. Please, give the legend of IK Enemkpali a right hook and stop calling Cover Zero Blitzes.

We’ve unfollowed Jamal Adams and Le’Veon Bell. We’re done being humiliated when Favre throws picks or sends pics. We don’t want to be branded by 3-13 or 1-15 anymore.

No more Mud Bowls and Snoopy Bowls. Only Super Bowls from now on.

Starting Monday night, if Aaron Rodgers can perform football wizardry and somehow lead the Jets down the yellow brick road to victory, it would be the greatest accomplishment of his Hall of Fame career. It would be the top line on his already legendary resume, forever. It would also leave a lasting legacy with the Jets, ensuring that they’ve been changed for good.

Towards the end of Wicked, Elphaba claims, “Everyone deserves a chance to fly.”

No one deserves it more than Jets fans.

Aaron Rodgers could be the right guy, at the right time, to finally help us Take Flight.

Afterall, I’ve heard it said, that people come into our lives for a reason.

Follow @ByJasonKlein

By Jason Klein

Follow @ByJasonKlein

The New York Yankees and adversity don’t mix.

The most successful franchise in professional sports is the oil to adversity’s vinegar – consistently rising to the top.

The same can be said for the cast members of the new Broadway show “Bronx Bombers.”

“Bronx Bombers” Opened on 1/10/14.

In desperate need of a warm baseball reprieve this frigid winter, my wife and I found ourselves at the Circle in the Square Theater this weekend, checking out the pinstriped play. That’s when cast and crew were thrown the ultimate curveball halfway through the performance.

Following a scene set within Yogi Berra’s bedroom, ceiling cables attached to the bedposts decided to malfunction. When an extended fifty-minute intermission couldn’t rectify the issue, the oversized prop was left as a permanent part of the set the rest of the show.

The Circle in the Square theater has no backstage area, and consequently, no place to move the errant bed to.

Ever wonder what a king size bed would look like inside the Yankees clubhouse?

Rather than lay down, cast members adopted a “show must go on” credo, and turned in a flawless performance the rest of the way. They could have easily just pulled the cover over their heads. Instead, I was quickly drawn back into the compelling story, often forgetting the large elephant…I mean…bed in the room.

A Yankee fan’s ultimate fantasy, “Bronx Bombers” brings together legends from all different eras of Yankees baseball. Told from Berra’s point of view, an all-star collection of players including Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Howard and Jeter meet up in a dream sequence – all in an effort save the franchise from combustion following Billy Martin and Reggie Jackson’s famous 1977 dugout squabble at Fenway Park.

Produced by Fran Kirmser and Tony Ponturo, the show pays extra close attention to detail throughout. Sitting atop the theater, like a crown, is a replica Yankee Stadium façade, and with MLB’s blessing, each player wears their era-specific uniform. Everything from length of sleeves, bagginess of pants and style of stirrups is addressed. Actors also do an excellent job portraying their characters. At times, I found myself recognizing players purely by their posture and mannerisms.

When an uncooperative prop threatened this authenticity halfway through the show, the cast responded in true Yankee-like fashion – rising above adversity to deliver a championship performance.

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