New York Jets

From the popular “West Side Story” that played the stage and movie theaters, I always liked this catchy tune about the Jets —

 “When you’re a Jet you’re the top hat in town, you’re the gold medal kid with the heavyweight crown, when you’re a Jet you’re the swinging nest thing, little boy you’re a king, the Jets are in here, our cylinders are clinging, yes here come the Jets, little world step aside, better stay underground, better run, better hide”.

JETS 20, BILLS 17

Ah, the New York Jets, I go back so far with the green and white that it was a sunny day at the Orange Bowl in Miami and they were actually playing the heavily favored Baltimore Colts, not for the Super Bowl, but for the final National Football League game versus the American Football League, and no matter what you heard, the initial actual Super Bowl was the following year.

But what did I know, the morning Miami Herald, the afternoon Miami Sun, and the all-day Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel ran headlines saying to catch the Super Bowl in Miami.

Young Jets’ quarterback Joe Namath, who I knew from playing softball together in the Broadway Show League played in Central Park, was launching At the Four Coins Motel on AIA across from the beach, and was getting annoyed by questions and rose from his launching chair and said to no one in particular: “Listen, we are going to win, you heard it here, so don’t ask me any more of those questions, just watch us win.”

Which they did and he was the Most Valuable Player against Don Shula’sColts.

I was covering sports at the time for the Sun, which was occupying one floor in the Herald building and always searching for a new residence with lower rent. Now this was 1965 and in 1995 it finally handed in its Herald building keys, nicely gave out severance pay and probably subscribed to the Herald.

So the years drifted by, I had changed publications in the area a few times, and still followed the good old Jets, who had yet to make an appearance in the Super Bowl that kicked off initially in 1966. Now green and white fans first assembled at the Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan as the New York Titans, and as the Polo Grounds continued to age, up went SheaStadium in the borough of Queens as the New Jets home.

Once the Jets gained the conference finals, one step from the Super Bowl, under Bill Parsells, and once they made it to the conference semis under Rex Ryan. They batted 0-2, both times against the Denver Broncos, close but no cigar. By now they were packing up to cross the Hudson and play in the Garden State.

I was then sports editor of the New York Post. I made assignments, edited copy, wrote columns, covered some events when I had time and wanted to get away from the noise of cars and people outside my office on the West Side where the highway ran near the Hudson River.

Now I’ve been reduced to a green and white supporter and it’s frustrating as the franchise stumbles and dreams of hoisting the Vince Lombardi Super Bowl trophy. Each season they’ve been up and down, having some surprisingly good games and dismal bad games. So it was nice to now watch them play one heck of a game and stun the state-rival, division-rival Buffalo Bills, 20-17, at Metro Life Stadium in East Rutherford early Sunday.

Believe it because I tried hard to do so, but as the game went on I decided and hoped it would stay close. Buffalo had trailed 7-0, tied it at 7-all, then trailed 10-7 at the half. Then it cut the gap to 14-10, but went up 17-14 before the Jets tied it on a field goal.

Of course I realized this was Buffalo and it had dominated the downstate franchise in recent times. It was now 6-1, considered a prime candidate for the Super Bowl, but as each play went by and the Jets went toe-to-toe on both sides of the ball, mixing in some runs, some passes, while the fired-up organized defense was driving the Bills batty, kind of like them thinking, ‘Who are those guys.’

But Buffalo took over and Allen found wide receiver Diggs down the sidelined on a one-on-one and he sped the remaining 41 yards to put his side up 20-17.

But the Jets responded. Two personal fouls against the visitors put the ball at the Buffalo 37. Five plays later, quarterback Zach Wilson got the ball to the 11 and on first down he tossed it to new running back James Robinson who scampered untouched into the end zone, and with the PAT, it was now 17-17 and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Now Allen and company got the kickoff at its own 10 and the Jets were about to showcase their defense. They continued to pressure him, twice sacking him and once causing him to fumble and scramble to pounce on it. With about seven minutes and change remaining, the Bills punted away on fourth and 17 and it carried to the Jets’ 10.

What now, for now it would take 90 yards with 7:37 left although he Jets’ offense had showed signs of moving the ball. The running game didn’t move the ball much before this, but now it would mix in about 2-3 handoffs and throw a pass, and all of a sudden Buffalo was changing its defense, sending in newer fresher players, except that Wilson and company had already reached the Bills’ 28 on a 27-yard Chris Carter run, and the 16 on an 11-yard burst up the middle by Robinson.

The Jets were obviously thinking field goal. Buffalo had one time out left and the scoreboard was ticking down. With it now becoming fourth down and six with 1:11remaining, the short field goal was up and over and 20-17 Jets as the supportive crowd went wild. The kickoff was a good one and the Bills were forced to bring it down at its own 8. The green and white was fired up and Allen was pressured as the clock became his enemy, and after a fourth and 27 incomplete pass to the same Diggs, it was all over but the wild Jets’ celebration.

Nice to write something like this, something that I watched live on the tubes, now let’s see where these Jets can go from here. Of course the championship tilt would be “super.”