As a New York Jets fans, today is for me a sacred day.
One of the most inspiring days of my life was January 12, 1969. Super Bowl III. I was 12 years old. My brother and I watched the game on a small black-and-white TV. We saw the Jets, who were 19 point underdogs, beat the mighty Baltimore Colts. David slew Goliath. It was possible for the most unbelievable of dreams to come true.
Since Joe Namath walked off that field, we have not returned to the Super Bowl.
Last year we won two playoff games on the road and made it to the AFC Championship Game. It wasn’t so bad when we lost to the Indianapolis Colts because we were heavy underdogs.
Now we have a real chance against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
I think that, if the Jets lose, it will be nothing to be ashamed of. It will be OK. Being in the AFC Championship Game two years in a row is very good.
I believe that the Jets will win.
And I have put my money where my mouth is.
If the Jets win, I will win 430 Euros. Plus keep alive my bet on them to win the Super Bowl, which I made in November.
Postscript, January 28:
So the Jets found a way to lose. I congratulate the Steelers. Unlike the Patriots, I respect the Steelers.
If you look here,
you will see that there are divergent views about whether the Jets’ season was a success or failure. It’s certainly a quantum-double-reality.
The Jets are not yet super. Therefore, I have to be super. That’s the way I read it.
Back to NFL Football: The Jets are knocking at the door. They are going to get to the Super Bowl. Pretty soon. They have to win their division. They have to beat out the Patriots in the regular season. They have to get the first-round bye and at least one home game in the playoffs.
What the Jets did two years in a row, winning two playoff games on the road each year, is a remarkable feat. The current Jets are an amazing success. Yes they are. We are respectable now. Very respectable. Compare that to the previous 40 years of wandering in the desert.
Those who say that the Jets had their “window of opportunity” these two years, and blew it, are wrong in their analysis. These were two great, non-Super Bowl, years, full of amazing achievements.
But these pundits are entitled to their wrong analysis. They are saying what they are saying because they hate the Jets. And they are entitled to that too. Good for them.
And I won’t stop gambling on sports just because I lost one big bet, which was less than a day’s pay anyway. Gambling on sports is a lot of fun, as long as you know the limit.
Yeah, there’s Albert Camus again: to have a sense of limits. Camus is back. Watch out.
And now it’s time to root for the Knicks.