In November for 2008 I was away with my family in Denver Colorado. The Patriots game was not being shown on local television. As a diehard fan I needed a place to watch this game. I ended up going to the ESPN Zone in downtown Denver. It is a quite a place and for the serious sports fan is much better than the CBS Scene.
The Pats were playing the Dolphins in Miami. I sat at the bar and was surrounded by fans of other teams. Ironically I was sitting right next to a Jets fan who was in Denver on business. He was watching the Jets play the Titans. As we watched our games we started to talk about our teams. What was remarkable about this Jets fan was his passion for the team and it was not obnoxious. The way he spoke about the Jets sounded very familiar to me.
All this guy wanted was his team to get to the Super Bowl and win it. He talked about what it was like to be a Jets fan. The Jets have not gotten to the Super Bowl since Joe Namath won it in the late 60's. Most Jets fans now probably weren't around for that Championship. His angst and desire for the Jets to win a championship reminded me of Red Sox fans before 2004.
The Jets have only gotten to the AFC Championship game 2 other times other than today after there Super Bowl win in the sixties. The most recent team was the Bill Parcells coached Jets of the late 90's. They played against ironically the Denver Broncos and lost. Think about the fact that they had only been to the AFC Championship game twice other than today since the sixties.
It was haftime and the Jets were up 10 -3. What was interesting is the Jets fan was very nervous. He was expecting his team to blow this lead and lose in the end. Again, he sounded like a Red Sox fan who has seen his team blow the World Series. I was actually confident at halftime
the Pats would beat the Dolphins.
In the end the Jets beat the Titans 34 - 13 and the Pats beat the Dolphins that day as well. More important than the victories I got to share a few hours with a fan of the Jets. I realized after this day that the Jets and there fan base have been through much. These fans are loyal and deserve to go to the Super Bowl.
As a Pats fan I have seen the Pat go to 6 Super Bowls and win 3 of them. They have also gone to 7 AFC Championship games and won 6 of them. Honestly, step back for a second and think what it must feel to be a fan of the Jets. The Jets fans are very different than any other fan base in New York. They are a passionate bunch that just wants to see there team win. This fan base is nothing like the Yankee fans or Giant fans. I honestly are pulling for these fans today. Good luck to them and the Jets fan I met in Denver.
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