“Maybe next year”
Those were the words I heard as I left the bar today after watching what I consider [and some others may agree] to be one of the worst losses I have experienced as a New York sports fans. Who said these awful words? A girl who I watched almost 20 weeks of this Jets season with. I simply responded by looking at her and saying, “those might be the worst 3 words a sports fan never wants to hear”. She didn’t understand and continued to ask me why I was so attached to the Jets? Why did I care for this team this much and bleed green and white? I just couldn’t explain it to her and even if I tried, I knew she would never understand. And truthfully, anyone who isn’t a fan of a team that is in a major championship drought never will.
The 2010 Jets gave me one of the most exciting sports years of my life. There were many highs and many lows, all accompanied with numerous moments that left me speechless. Whether it was watching Braylon Edwards ‘dougie’ towards a Pats defender or watching the Jets get blown out at New England, there were man highs and many lows that any sports fan finds both amazing and impossible to bear at the same time.
I just want to say a final few words to sum up this season for me and I think a lot of Jets fans will agree. 1st off I want to say that Rex Ryan is a great coach and that people need to understand what he’s saying is not to get the other team fired up, but to get his own team fired up. Everything he says is not smack talk, but a way to instill fire into his own team before big games, which his team has done a great job in backing him up. Secondly, although at times difficult to watch, Mark Sanchez is turning into a great pro and I really think next year he will continue to make great strides in a positive direction. His playoff record indicates that and he has done a great job embracing the spotlight in New York City. I also believe the Jets priorities for this offseason include the following :
(1) Resign Santonio Holmes, David Harris, and Cromartie (specifically Holmes and Harris)
(2) Try drafting a defensive lineman who can play across from Shaun Ellis
(3) Find a more reliable kicker and potentially draft another safety in the draft
(4) Resign Braylon (if salary cap allows for it) and Brad Smith (great special teams player, allows for the wild cat)
The 2010 Jets will forever go down as one of my more favorite teams who I believe underachieved, but not to the extent some other people may think. Next year, after some minor off season tweaking, we will be back and hopefully win the one think that has alluded this franchise for decades: The Superbowl.
