Heading Back to Indianapolis!
I am just incredibly excited to be heading to Indianapolis this weekend to watch the one team I have literally obsessed about for over 30 years. Yes that team, my team, the New York Jets are heading to the AFC Championship Game to take on the top-seeded Colts this Sunday at 3 p.m. Where did this team come from? Where did Rex Ryan come from? Well in actuality they have been building this team up for a long time. Many people don’t realize that this group is not an overnight sensation. Our star studded offensive line has been being built for four years. Many of the defensive studs have put in more then a few seasons in a Jets uniform. Special teams aces like Brad Smith and Wallace Wright have been putting in their time in as well. Finally, though, we now have a coach who knows how to make it all work and knows how to motivate his players. He also is one hell of a coach. Lets also not forget some rookies who are making names for themselves like number 6 and number 23.
If I am dreaming please don’t wake me up now. Things are finally looking up for a franchise that has suffered through more then its fair share of difficult seasons. All of my close friends who are my age are Giants fans and have watched their team play in the Super Bowl four times during our lifetimes. Four times! Me, not one. Even the Arizona Cardinals have made it to the Super Bowl in my lifetime. I even had to take my father-in-law, a Giants die hard, to the Super Bowl in 2007 and sit through that game while he cheered relentlessly. This year I am hoping it’s my turn. Regardless if they go to the Super Bowl or not, I am excited to have a team still playing right now.
Shammy goes deep for a long TD pass from Tuchman
I am raring to go see the Jets play in their first conference championship since 1998. The only other time aside from 1998 the Jets made it this far in my lifetime was in 1982 when they played the Dolphins in the so called Mud Bowl down at the Orange Bowl. I remember I had to keep playing with the tin foil on the antenna on my little black and white television trying to get reception. I should have turned it off as my main memory is watching AJ Duhe pick off a pair of Richard Todd passes. I loved that team and loved those players but unfortunately they came up one game short in their quest to go to the Super Bowl. Sunday can’t come soon enough for championship-starved Jet fans. It’s not often your favorite team gets this far in the playoffs and in the Jet fan’s case, it’s a rare occurrence.
I honestly would trade tickets to all of the 100 sporting events in my book to be able to see the Jets play in the Super Bowl. They’re one win away and I don’t feel like waiting another year. Why not now? Why not them? Although Peyton Manning and the Colts will give the Jets fits, there’s no reason why the Jets can’t pull off another upset in this year’s playoffs. All you have to do is look at the last time the Jets were playing the Colts in a game of this magnitude. Namath came through. Can the Jets do it again?
Now I also don’t mind heading to Indianapolis. I think it is a fantastic city for sporting events. When I’m not cheering for the Jets defense to make a stop on third down, I’ll be visiting the NCAA Hall of Champions. The Hall was recently renovated and
reopened in 2009 because of a fire and I’m excited to see how the renovation came out. The museum offers an array of exhibits based on memorable student-athletes and NCAA athletic performances. I may also get over to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. The collection of cars at the museum is one of the greatest in the world. Too bad I can’t drive one home from Indy. I’d love to take a former Indy 500 winning car on the freeway back to New York while gloating over a Jets victory. Looking forward also to a nice steak at St. Elmo’s Steakhouse.
Attending an NFL conference championship game is ranked 18 on the list of the 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live. I’ll also knock off another one in my book!
I’m really starting to grind out the list and knock off events at the top of the list. Let’s go Jets, allow me to have a rooting stake in this year’s Super Bowl, something I’ve never been able to do before!
“Lets hope it doesnt come down to this!!!!!!”
Minnesota and New Orleans is going to be such a good game. I was hoping all season long these two would meet up in the NFC Championship and honestly.. either team could team this game. The Saints are -3.0 favourites and historically home team get given three points for the home-field advantage… so basically this game is a pick-em and there is ONE thing that I like about the Saints and its that home-field advantage. Last week Warner and Romo combined for 7 sacks and 4 fumbles largely in part to not being able to communicate with their offence. The SuperDome is NUTS and I don’t care how much experience Favre has, the crowd can help a team and also hurt the other so much.
Feel free to check out my picks with scores (and of course cheerleader pictures) @ http://www.lionsdenu.com/category/sports/nfl-guide-2009-2010/
Best of luck to all this week,
Regards,
TheCoach