Tag Archives: New York

More Hard Knocks

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By Jason Klein 

I remember watching that first episode of Hard Knocks with my wife.  The two of us bopped our heads to “Shivers” as we watched Aaron Rodgers launch training camp missiles with precision. “That boy is cold,” Garrett Wilson said at the time. 

The players were in awe.  I was in shock.  I turned to my wife and said, “I can’t believe this is real.  This guy’s a Hall of Famer and he actually wants to be on the Jets.”  Unless you’ve lived with a Jets inferiority complex, you can’t possibly understand what this meant at the time.

I hadn’t been this proud to be a Jets fan since those 2009 and 2010 seasons…1998 before that. Everything was in place to make a legitimate run at a Lombardi. There was hype. There was national attention. There was reason to believe the “Same Old Jets” were dead.

Then, I uttered those words. The ones us Jets fans always regret saying out loud: “This time it’s going to be different,” I said.  We ALL said it!  That’s why this is so disappointing…even for a fanbase that is routinely tortured and teased in the cruelest of ways.

This time, the football Gods did us dirtier than Lucy ever did Charlie Brown.  They pulled the rug out from under us just 4 plays into this experiment and everything changed. After that Achilles pop, we never got the Rodgers experience we were promised.

I’m optimistic that Aaron Glenn is the right hire at head coach, but that doesn’t make this empty feeling go away. It doesn’t make that Super Bowl III Trophy any less lonely, either. Not yet, anyway.  Quarterback purgatory is a tough place to be.  Jets fans have spent most of their fandom there.  I thought Rodgers was the one to get us out of the darkness.  We all did.  Maybe this next regime will finally find a franchise quarterback to get it done.

Life with Aaron Rodgers was just full of hard knocks.

Time To Jet Up

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By Jason Klein

(Updated January 9, 2025)

When I was a kid, I used to spend time
Writing down notes about Jets games in rhyme.
I’d document things that happened each week
Some things were real good and others quite bleak.

I started the year they went 1 and 15.
That season was brutal for fans of Gang Green.
I wrote about Kotite, and Keyshawn and Wayne.
All of the losing and all of the pain.

With things looking up, the time just felt right
To once again give my Jets rhymes the greenlight.
In case this new season is really our year,
I chose to start up before Week 1’s premiere. 

This one just feels different. The roster is loaded.
A ring is the goal with a QB who’s GOAT’ed.
Rodgers is back from his ruptured Achillies.
Can he secure the team’s first since Joe Willie’s?

The legacy logo thrilled fans at release.
We can’t wait to see it on Sauce and on Breece.
This season is huge. There’s so much at stake.
It’s time for these Jets to go “All Gas No Brake.”

The ’24 Jets have pushed in all their chips.
They’re ready to tear up those tired old scripts.
The “Same Old Jets” are a thing of the past.
No longer the punchline or finishing last.

The Jets, through the years, have kept us all humble.
We’ve seen every fake spike and every butt fumble.
It’s time to get past it, it’s time to attack.
We’ve moved on from guys like Sam Darnold and Zach.

We’ve seen all the miscues, we’ve watched all the clips,
We’ve been through the Mud Bowl, the Mono and Yips.
We had to watch Belichick slither away,
Refusing to be HC of N Y J.

Heidi and Tebow, Idzik and Gase.
IK hit Geno real hard in the face.
Favre sending pictures and Sam seeing ghosts,
Doug Brien not able to split the goalposts.

Leon’s pass in Detroit and a darkness retreat,
Chad and his shoulder. Rex and his feet.
Planes over practice for Woody to see.
Vernon, Blair Thomas and then there was Dee.

Le’Veon Bell and the Prez went away,
Testaverde went down on opening day.
Gastineau’s gaffe and Byars’ dropped ball.
Too many moments so hard to recall.

We’ve been tortured and teased in the cruelest of ways.
They’ve given us heartbreak. They’ve given us greys.
But here comes a legend, the one and the only,
To make sure our Lombardi is no longer lonely.

Rodgers will lead us, no need to be leery.
Ignore every flaw and conspiracy theory.
He emerged from the darkness to answer our prayer,
And sit in the throne as Joe Namath’s heir.

Surrounded by players considered elite,
Mike Williams and Tippman are here to compete.
A roster with Quinnen and JJ and Garrett.
Saleh and Douglas have dangled that carrot.

By bringing in good dudes like Tyron and Quincy, 
We now can stack up with the Chiefs and with Cincy.
With CJ and DJ and AVT, too,
The Jets are prepared to go pull off a coup.

Forget ’68 and that Super Bowl drought,
The ’24 Jets are about to ball out.
The season is here. Pour a drink in your cup.
It’s time to Take Flight.  It’s time to Jet Up.

The Jets flew to Frisco to kick off Week 1,
McCaffrey didn’t play, still, they couldn’t stop the run.
Rodgers looked healthy and put up a fight,
Yet, they fell to the 9ers on that Monday Night.

Week 2 took the Jets out to old Tennessee.
Jermaine left the game with a tough injury.
Braelon and Breece showed they’re quite the duel threat,
While Aaron chalked up his first win as a Jet.

For decades the Pats showed the Jets no respect,
But flipping that script is a box Rodgers checked.
On Thursday Night Football, Gang Green turned the tide,
And Week 3 gave Jets fans a new sense of pride.

Everyone thought we were done with the pain.
Along came the Broncos…and so did the rain.
Coaching mistakes and the offense couldn’t score.
So they lost to Bo Nix in a soggy Week 4.

Sam and the Vikings were in the UK.
A Week 5 in London, but to our dismay,
The offense was sluggish and Rodgers threw picks.
Brand new continent. Same old tricks.

Two weeks in a row, the team looked uninspired,
So Woody went rogue and then Saleh was fired. 
In desperate need of a brand new approach,
The Jets made Jeff Ulbrich their interim head coach.

Throwback jerseys and a not to the past,
But the Bills beat the Jets. The good vibes didn’t last.
Flags and missed field goals. A sloppy Week 6.
Tons of bad habits for this team to fix.

Rodgers had wanted his pal from Green Bay.
So Joe D went out and he traded for Tae.
Davante’s a big star and everyone knows,
The Jets must win now or this window will close.

A Week 7 showdown in the Steel City,
The Jets were destroyed and it wasn’t real pretty.
Year after year it’s not hard to predict,
That we all buy the hype and again we get tricked.

The gloomiest Jets fan could not have forseen,
That our season would end just before Halloween.
A dysfunctional loss to the Pats in Week 8,
Had our fanbase disgusted, fed up and irate.

“Sell the team” chants in Week 9 out of spite,
Then a spooky thing happened on Halloween night.
The Jets beat the Texans with “Jumpman” G5.
His catch of the year kept the season alive.

Week 10 in the desert went horribly wrong.
A pitiful effort proved they don’t belong.
This year, the playoffs are not in the Cards.
The Jets, once again, kick us all in the nards.

1 o’clock with the Colts because it was flexed,
Showcased a Jets team that always seems hexed.
In this Week 11 they fell to defeat.
We’ll try again next year. Rinse and repeat.

The Bye in Week 12 is this year’s point of junction.
The Jets proved again they’re a team of dysfunction.
This franchise relentlessly puts us through hell.
Now they fired Joe Douglas. Sell, Woody! Sell!

Two weeks to prepare. The results were obscene.
A loss to the Seahawks capped off Week 13.
The Jets blew the lead and AR passed the blame.
We hoped things would change but got more of the same.

Garrett Wilson is sick of the Jets “losing gene.”
He made that well known, postgame, Week 14.
An overtime loss to the Fins was real gory.
Forever stuck in football purgatory.

The Jets could have easily pack up their bags,
And been a no-show for their date with the Jags.
But Davante went off Week 15 for the win,
Much to the pro-Tankathoner’s chagrin.

The Athletic reported Brick Johnson’s in charge,
And Woody’s reliance on Madden is large.
The Rams beat the Jets Week 16 in the cold.
This season’s a story that’s best left untold. 

In Week 17 the Bills swarmed and attacked.
They made Aaron Rodgers the all-time most sacked.
According to Sauce, some guys might be “checked out.”
Rock Bottom is something the Jets know about.

With little to play for AR was carefree,
By throwing 4 touchdowns he reached 503.
The Jets beat the Fins in a Week 18 clash,
Expectations were high, but this season was trash.

We thought they were ready, we thought they were ripe,
We all got excited and bought all the hype.
This was our shot to get out of the woods,
Instead Woody sold us the same bill of goods.

The Gods from above should have thrown us a bone.
Instead our Lombardi still sits all alone.
Rodgers maintains that he has no regrets,
Taking this challenge to rebrand the Jets.

Instead, after two years, it’s mostly the same.
AR’s not alone, there are plenty to blame.
The guy who said “thinking is so overrated,”
Must be found liable for the mess he created.

But Woody won’t sell, we’ll just have to sit tight,
And pray that they finally can get this thing right.
It starts with the search for a coach and GM,
To settle things down and stop all the mayhem.

Unlike past rebuilds, this roster’s not barren.
Will they run back with Devonte and Aaron?
Can Garrett be happy, avoiding a trade? 
Now is the time to make sure he gets paid.

No matter what happens, there should be no doubt,
The number one goal is to end this damn drought.
A return to the playoffs is long overdue.
Nothing has worked, so they’ll try something new.

We’ve been tortured and teased in so many ways,
It’s got to pay off for us one of these days.
Until then we’ll all pour a drink in our cup,
And dream of the day they can finally Jet Up.

If Aaron Rodgers Can Overcome Jets Wicked Past, He’ll Change Team For Good

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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.

Zach Wilson Can Help Jets Fans Forget Tortured History

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By Jason Klein 

Prove them right, Zach.

Please!  For the sake of all Jets fans.  For my personal well-being.

Just prove the Jets right.

I’ve seen the wristband and the wall in your parents’ living room.  I know you wake up every day looking to “Prove Them Wrong.”  I respect it.  I appreciate it.  Now go spend the next decade proving them right, instead.

Start on Sunday.

Show the football world why the Jets selected you with the second overall pick in the draft.  They traded Sam Darnold to clear your path down Zachs Fifth Avenue.  They chose to build around you rather than doubling down on Sam.  Validate that decision.

I’m begging you.

Us Jets fans need things to work out this time.  Our team has rarely gotten it right.  Ken O’Brien had moments, Browning Nagle never did.  Boomer Esiason and Neil O’Donnell had big names but little success.  Vinny Testaverde got close.  Chad Pennington got hurt.  Mark Sanchez got Tebow’d.  Geno Smith got punched.  Darnold got Gase’d. 

Things never seem to work out for us.  It’s been 52 years since Super Bowl III.  We’re tired of rooting for the same old nonsense.  But you, Mr. Wilson, can change the narrative.  Please, take us Zach to the Future.  Help us forget our past.

We don’t want to think about fake spikes or butt fumbles.  We’re done with shovel passes, seeing ghosts and Snoopy Bowl suffering.  Pull the plug on Heidi Games, burner accounts and mononucleosis.  

We don’t want to hear about Mark Gastineau’s personal foul in Cleveland or Leon Johnson’s halfback option pass in Detroit.  We’re done talking about Peyton Manning staying in school and the HC of the NYJ haphazardly scribbling on a napkin.  We’re sick of the Idzik 12, foot fetishes, and “brilliant offensive minds.”

No more Vernon Gholston, Blair Thomas, Dee Milliner and Johnny “Lam” Jones.  We never want to hear about Lou Holtz, Rich Kotite or Adam Gase again.

We want to give Joe Namath’s interview with Suzy Kolber a big kiss goodbye.  

We’ve unfollowed Jamal Adams and Le’Veon Bell on social media.  We’re tired of hearing that our head coach thinks he’s “rich as f*ck,” or that our owner “hopes this team actually shows up.” No more rooting against our own team in hopes of securing the first pick in the draft.

We’ve tripped over our own logo in the end zone for the last time.  No more firing General Managers AFTER they run our drafts.  Put away the Pick 6’s, PSLs and advice from Peyton Manning.

We want to forget about Brett Favre’s torn biceps, Chad’s torn shoulder and Vinny’s torn Achilles.  Give the hook to I.K. Enemkpali’s right hook.  We’re done living in Tom Brady’s shadow.

Enough googly-eyed press conference memes.  No more Cover Zero Blitzes.  We can’t take any more planes flying over practice or 1-15 seasons. Oh, and Woody, you most certainly CAN have too much Tebow.

Please, Zach.  We’re pleading with you.  End this endless string of ineptitude for us.  No more Mud Bowls.  Only Super Bowls.  Take the chip on your shoulder and go get a chip for that trophy case in Florham Park.  We don’t expect it to happen overnight, but a Lombardi will prove them right, one day, for sure.

It won’t be easy.  You’re about to go all gas, no brake with an organization that’s mostly been stuck in reverse.  We believe in you, though.  We’ve heard the hype.  We’ve watched the tape.  We’ve listened to all the experts and analysts and coaches who have gushed over your arm talent, praised your work ethic and admired your leadership qualities.

We think you’re the one to lift us from the green and white abyss.  We trust you’re the pilot to finally help us take flight.

We need things to work out.  This time has to be different.

Please, Zach.  For the sake of all Jets fans.  For my personal well-being.

Prove us right.

Sam Darnold Gave Me Hope. The Jets Gave Him None.

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By Jason Klein

Sam Darnold deserved better.

We all did.

I was inside MetLife Stadium when he was drafted.  The Jets were about to secure their long-coveted franchise quarterback and I needed to be there the moment it happened.

I watched the screen in the corner of the end zone, with my dad, as Sam put that crisp draft day Jets hat on for the first time. We finally had “our guy!”  He was instantly the most promising quarterback prospect the team had selected since Joe Namath. I was giddy just thinking about all the possibilities…and…this was only the beginning!

That night, Sam gave me something I rarely have as a Jets fan.

That night, Sam gave me hope.  

Unfortunately, the Jets never gave Sam any in return.

On Monday, the New York Jets traded Darnold to the Carolina Panthers, without ever giving him the proper tools to Take Flight.

They failed Darnold in every way imaginable. 

Long before any pandemic, Jets personnel should have been wearing masks while they robbed Sam of his opportunity in New York.

The organization had a responsibility to give their young quarterback everything he needed to win while still on his rookie contract. Instead, they gave him nothing.  They surrounded him with a shoddy supporting cast and never built an offensive line to protect their most valuable asset. They never even thought to hire an accomplished coordinator or QB coach to cultivate his unique talents and help him reach his potential. 

Their most damning decision was to hire an historically incompetent head coach to be Sam’s “Quarterback Whisperer.” Adam Gase was never the right coach to entrust the most critical years of Darnold’s development to.  He could never “coach football to where it was going.”  He was a football charlatan with a toxic personality and an archaic offensive scheme.

Everyone knew it from the day he was hired. Everyone saw it. Players, media, fans, opponents…everyone knew. That is, everyone except the one man on the planet who had the authority to make this decision: acting owner, Christopher Johnson.

Everyone Knew What Darnold Needed…Except The Jets

At times, it felt as if Johnson sat around and purposely hatched a plan to systematically stunt Sam’s growth. 

To be fair, Darnold didn’t do anything to help himself out.  His completion percentage was always too low and his interception totals were always too high.  On the field, he made plenty of bad decisions.  It’s just that his team’s decisions were always far worse.

The way the Jets failed to support their young QB was nothing short of football malpractice.  No QB in the league could have succeeded in the cesspool Darnold was stuck in.  

Other teams like the Bills, Browns and Ravens invested heavily in the pieces around their young stud QBs. As a result, Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson are all thriving members of the same QB class of 2018.  The Jets were negligent with Darnold from day one, and watched his window of opportunity close without ever getting a proper chance to see what kind of player he could be.

Through it all, the classy Darnold never pointed fingers.  He blindly defended Gase and always supported the organization’s position.  He consistently took the high road, even when he should have put his car in reverse.  He never made excuses, but he had plenty of them.

There was his nagging sprained foot in 2018, his Mono diagnosis in 2019 and busted shoulder early in 2020.  There’s no telling how any of these setbacks impacted his play because, well, he would never be caught telling anyone about them.  A true leader, Darnold shouldered all the blame instead.

Monday’s trade ends months of speculation.  Still only 23 years-old, and now fully healthy, Sam escapes New York and gets to work with a roster more talented than anything he ever had with the Jets. He’ll finally get his shot to work with elite offensive weapons like Christian McCaffrey, DJ Moore and old buddy Robby Anderson.  He’ll have Head Coach Matt Rhule on his sideline and a true offensive guru, Joe Brady, in his ear.   

Meanwhile, the Jets are certain to use the #2 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft to take Sam’s successor – likely Zach Wilson of BYU.

Wilson is young, gifted and exciting.  He is incredibly accurate and has all-world arm talent.  He is also a perfect fit for the new west coast offensive Matt Lafleur will run under Head Coach, Robert Saleh.

Should Wilson be the pick, his arrival would give me something I rarely have as a Jets fan.  

Zach would give me hope. 

For his sake, the Jets must handle the critical early years of his development much differently than they did Darnold’s.

After all, Wilson deserves better.

We all do.

Old Jets Logo Was Cool…Like Kevin Arnold.

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By Jason Klein

I always thought Kevin Arnold was the coolest.

He had Winnie Cooper, but more importantly, he had that vintage New York Jets jacket.

Played by Fred Savage, Kevin was the star of The Wonder Years, a family

comedy/drama that was “appointment TV” for me from 1988-1993.  Well before Netflix or Prime, I made sure I was in front of a TV when it aired each week.  Back then, the only thing streaming were tears…each time an episode’s moral tugged at your heartstrings.

Change was a central theme of the story that took place during the turbulent late 60s and early 70s. There were political changes, social changes, and tons of personal changes that Kevin experienced over the show’s 6-year run.

Through it all, one thing remained constant for Kevin.

That Jets jacket.

I loved that jacket. There was something so endearing about it.  The Jets have never really had a place among pop culture.  Their players didn’t star in commercials.  Musicians or rappers never performed in Jets jerseys or caps.  The Jets were never even the most popular football team in their own city.  Yet, there was the star of a primetime network hit wearing a Jets jacket every week.

Taking place between 1968-1973, Kevin’s jacket featured the logo made famous during

Super Bowl III.  It was the same emblem Joe Namath wore the day he wagged that finger and delivered a Lombardi Trophy.  Namath was always so cool.  With that Jets logo on his jacket, so was Kevin Arnold.

As it turns out, Broadway Joe will be the only quarterback to ever win a title with that logo on his helmet.

That’s a guarantee.

Later today, change is coming to the New York Jets.  At 7:30 PM, Gang Green will introduce a new uniform and logo.  It will be the team’s first wardrobe change since 1998.  That’s when Bill Parcells pulled a Marty McFly and went Back to the Future – bringing those famous Super Bowl III jerseys back.

They wore the throwbacks for 21 seasons, but could never repeat what Namath did.

Vinny Testaverde got close, once.  Mark Sanchez had two shots at immortality, but came up short.  Even Chad Pennington made 3 playoff appearances in those Namath-style threads, but his ring finger remained bare, like the Jets trophy case over the last 50 years.

Maybe change is good. Perhaps a new identity will turn the tide, improve karma and provide some positive feng shui over in East Rutherford.

With a new head coach and two young cornerstone players in Sam Darnold and Jamal Adams, this feels like the right time to move forward with a renewed identity.

Still, there’s something special about continuity and tradition.

I watched Derek Jeter win five World Series in the same uniform my dad once watched Mickey Mantle win in.  Now, my daughters see Aaron Judge try to do the same thing.  The generations change, but the pinstripes never do.

There are rumors, and unconfirmed leaks on Twitter, that suggest this Jets update will maintain some elements of the old logo.  I’d like that.  We’ll know for sure after tonight.

If I can’t have that classic logo, or Winnie Cooper for that matter, I’ll take a Super Bowl victory in whatever uniform they trot out tonight.

That would be cool.

Even cooler than Kevin Arnold.

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Like Parcells, Gase Has Chance To Change Jets Identity, 50 Years After Super Bowl III

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By Jason Klein

Fifty years.

That’s how long it’s been since the New York Jets won a Super Bowl.

Hell, that’s how long it’s been since they even appeared in the big game.

Today marks the 50th Anniversary of Super Bowl III.  January 12, 1969 is this team’s identity.  It’s the defining moment in their franchise’s history and it happened 50 years ago today.

Yes.  Fifty!

Imagine being best known for something you accomplished a half century ago.

When will the narrative change?  Well, it’s been 22 years since their last, best chance.  In 1997, after winning just 4 of their previous 32 games, the Jets hired the coach they thought could rescue them from irrelevance and completely change everything.  This week, they did it again.

Tuna then. A Dolphin now.

There are a lot of similarities between what Bill Parcells faced in 1997 and what former Miami Head Coach, Adam Gase is about to take on.

Both inherited a floundering Jets franchise in desperate need of a new beginning.

Parcells’ rescue mission followed the team’s historically horrible two-year run from 1995-1996.  He began the makeover in his second season by introducing new uniforms.  He brought back a modern version of the team’s jerseys worn between 1964-1977, a tribute to that only Super Bowl team in franchise history.

Next, he added a ton of new players.  Game-changing players.  Names like Curtis Martin, Kevin Mawae, Keith Byars and Bryan Cox.  They brought a new attitude and gave the team instant credibility.

Finally, he found a top-level Quarterback.  Vinny Testaverde arrived, leading the Jets to a Division Title, a 12-4 record and a trip to the AFC Championship Game.  Though they fell one win short of a Super Bowl appearance, the team had clearly turned a corner.

When Gase is introduced as the new HC of the NYJ on Monday afternoon, he’ll also inherit a team coming off a historically horrible run.  Over the last three seasons, they’ve won just 14 of their previous 48 games.

Like Parcells, Gase will attempt to change the team’s identity.

New uniforms are coming this spring.  With the third overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, and close to $100M in cap space, Gase and GM Mike Maccagnan must find new, game-changing players like Parcells once did.  Lucky for Gase, he’s already got the QB in Sam Darnold.

Both Parcells and Gase took over Jets teams at pivotal junctures in franchise history.  They were both hired by questionable ownerships with limited football knowledge.  Gase also takes on an angry, skeptical fanbase who is tired of losing, just as Parcells did.

Parcells was able to quickly flip the script and almost get that elusive second Lombardi Trophy for the Jets.  Now Adam Gase has his chance.

“I’m excited about him coming,” said Joe Namath, the man under center 50 years ago today.  “I believe he can do it.”

If he does, according to acting owner, Christopher Johnson, he’ll be a “Freaking Legend.”  It’s been a freaking long time since this team had any real legends to celebrate.

Fifty years, to be exact.

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Darnold Gives Jets Fans Like Me Hope.

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By Jason Klein

Thursday night, I left the Meadowlands with a win.

I’ve walked out of there many times through the years.  This time felt different, though.

Inside, there were no passes thrown, no yards gained and no touchdowns scored.  My team gained no ground in the standings either.

I still left with a win, and it was unlike any victory I’ve experienced in that stadium, or the old one.

I won because I left with hope.

Like, long-term hope. Like, hey, I might have several years of meaningful football ahead of me kind of hope.  Maybe even a decade of hope.  Maybe even more.

Thursday night, I left the Meadowlands after the New York Jets selected Sam Darnold with the 3rd overall pick in the NFL Draft.  I was there, watching along with other Jets fans, at the team’s 2018 Draft Party.  When Darnold put on that crisp Jets cap and held up that green jersey, he immediately became the most promising prospect to play Quarterback for the Jets since Joe Namath left forty years ago.

He was not expected to be available for the Jets to select.  Like so many of the games I’ve watched in that Stadium, I felt Darnold was just a little out of reach. Too good to be true.  Not meant-to-be.

I was wrong.

Somehow, as I watched inside MetLife Stadium, Darnold, arguably the top Quarterback in the draft, miraculously fell into the Jets lap.  This sort of thing doesn’t happen to the Jets. Ever.  This is a team that finds a way to lose, even when they win.  Not this time, though.

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Attending the Jets Draft Party at MetLife Stadium

Mark it down as a “W.”

I’ve waited a long time for this.

I had a Ken O’Brien jersey as a kid.  I traded that for a Boomer Esiason uniform.  Browning Nagle and Glenn Foley were teases.  I never bought into Neil O’Donnell, but I fell hard for Vinny Testaverde and Chad Pennington.  Mark Sanchez brought me closer to a Lombardi Trophy than anyone since Vinny…twice. Ultimately, he had the rug pulled out from under him.  Brett Favre was a gimmick.  Tim Tebow was a distraction.  Geno Smith was never the answer and Ryan Fitzpatrick was a bearded bridge to nowhere.

So many different Quarterbacks through the years.  Some showed the promise to rise above the ineptitude that has so often hampered this organization.  All of them ended up sinking, one way or another, deep into the swamps of Jersey.

Unfulfilled potential. Unfortunate injuries.  Undermined by management.  Unbelievable misfortune.

This is different. Landing Darnold is a franchise-changing victory.

Sure, he could be a bust. He could turn out to be just another name to add to the list of failed Jets Quarterbacks.  We won’t know that for several years.

But, what if he succeeds? What if he’s a true Franchise Quarterback?  What if he leads the Jets to the playoffs?  What if he gets one of those Lombardi Trophies?  What if he gets more?

What if he has a long, historic career for the Jets?  Like, a 10-12 year career?  My daughters are in 2nd grade and pre-school now.  What if Sam Darnold is still the Quarterback of the Jets when they’re in college?  What if?

That’s what makes this pick a win. A conquest so different than all the others I’ve seen through the years in East Rutherford, NJ.

It’s the hope.  It’s the optimism.  It’s the faith and belief in my team that I’ve lacked for far too long now.

Sports fans need hope. Without it, what’s the point?  Why spend the time or the money?  Without hope, rooting for a team becomes a robotic ritual. Passionless and pointless.

I want my Sundays in the Fall to matter.  I want to trust in a process and be confident in a plan.

The last few years, I’ve watched this team with indifference.  There seemed to be no strategy for the future. Drafting Sam Darnold changes that.

Drafting Sam Darnold gives me hope.

For me, that’s a win.

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Have The Yankees Found Their Next Captain? You Be The Judge.

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By Jason Klein

All Rise?

Honestly, why would you ever sit down in the first place?

There’s no time to relax between each one of Aaron Judge’s majestic blasts.  They fly out of stadiums at a record pace, travel record distances and leave me sounding like, well, a broken record.

“He hit another one last night,” is the first thing I say to my wife every single morning.

Forget Groundhog Day.  We’re all living Judgement Day over and over again.

Through 60 games, Judge is hitting .341 with 22 HR and 49 RBI.  It’s a small sample, but he’s showing no signs of laying down his gavel.  His at-bats are can’t-miss events, he comes up with a game-defining hit almost every night and he hears “MVP” chants…on the road!

Oh, and let the record show, Your Honor is a 6 foot, 7 inch, 25 year-old rookie!

It’s Judge’s courtroom.  We’re all witnesses.

Yup, Number 99 is everywhere: the front of Sports Illustrated, the middle of the Yankees’ line up, the back of fans’ jerseys and the top of prominent AL statistical categories, including HR, batting average and runs scored.

He is impressive on the field and poised off of it.  He handles the bright lights of New York with ease and deflects all adulation on to his teammates.

He tells you that he doesn’t pay attention to his individual accomplishments.  Instead, he only focusses on winning games.  For twenty years, Derek Jeter said the same thing.  I always believed him.  Now, I believe Judge.

Like Jeter, Judge has a good head, and a great bat, resting firmly on his shoulders.  His teammates respect him and fans adore him.  Is it possible the Yankees found their future Captain?  Do my two young daughters have their own Jeter to look up to…and grow up with?

There’s plenty of time to figure it out.

No time to sit down, though.

Judge is walking to the plate.

All Rise.

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Jeter’s Latest Title Might Be His Greatest

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By Jason Klein

You couldn’t pick just one.

We sat together, inside Yankee Stadium, and I asked you to decide which of your Titles meant the most to you.  You couldn’t do it.

“‘96, ‘98, ‘99, 2000, 2009…All five of them,” you said.  “We won all of those years.”

Well, Derek, the debate ends with your newest title:

Dad.

There is nothing more special or rewarding than being a father – especially to a little girl. I’ve got two of them. They changed my life, and your little bambina will change yours too.

For twenty years, you played shortstop.  Now, you’ll stop short of nothing to make your daughter smile.  You once carried the weight of New York on your shoulders, but there is no greater responsibility than fatherhood.  Dressed in Jumpman, you’ll jump, man, every time she needs your help. For her, Mr. November will be Mr. Everyday.

You’ll flip for her!  You’ll want to dive into everything that interests her.  You’ll be her champion and her captain.  Number 2 will be her Number 1.

No doubt, being a Dad is hard work.  She’ll wear you out, like a doubleheader in mid-August.  You’ll get less sleep than a west coast trip.  She’ll throw you more curve balls than Pedro Martinez and ask more questions than the New York media.  She’ll demand your very best each and every day.

You’re battle-tested, though.  I saw you rise to the occasion for two decades in Pinstripes.  You were a role model for a generation of fans.  Now you’ll serve in the same capacity for your daughter.

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Her First Yankees Game!  Watching Derek Jeter’s Final Career HR with my Daughter in 2014.

The world needs more strong, successful young women.  Be sure to pass on your work ethic and leadership abilities to her.  Teach her to be classy, accountable, carry herself with dignity, be professional and respectful…just as you were.  Empower her to be confident, do what makes her happy and be who she wants to be.

These are all messages I try to convey to my two young daughters each day.

After your final game at Yankee Stadium, when reflecting back on your career, you said, “I’ve never taken it for granted, but it goes a lot quicker than you could imagine.”  Remember this while you’re rolling around on the floor playing with your new baby girl.  Enjoy it all.  Like your twenty years in the Bronx, it will go faster than you think.

Unlike your previous Championships, your latest title won’t have all the fanfare.  There will be no cheering, no press, no parades or rings.  Your fans won’t celebrate this title, but you should.  It’s your most important one to date.

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