Did I enjoy the past weekend of NFL games which stretched from Thursday, December 22nd with the Jaguars-Jets to Monday night with the Chargers and Colts concluding the debauchery of pro football? More times than not, once I got past the debacle known as Zach Wilson leading the team I root for—and I use the word leading advisably.
The collective sigh of relief of Jets fans at the news that Mike White’s ribs have miraculously healed and he is fine to start the uber important game at Seattle on Sunday afternoon was louder than a cobra hissing as it is coiled and ready to attack. For that’s what the Jets will bring to Seattle with White—a bona fide passing attack.
Head Coach Robert Saleh continues to say that Wilson is not finished with the Jets. Except that reports say the opposite.
Wilson has become somenthing of an enigma. His pedigree apparently remains high. Yet he is maddeningly slow to adapt to speed of pro football. In hindsight, the kid needed to sit and observe for at least a year. His injuries also have retarded his growth.
Right now, the Jets must go with White. They have little choice if they continue to seek the wild card spot which is dangling tantalizingly before them. Miami has issues, having lost four straight and now their QB is once more in concussion protocol. The Jets-Dolphins game ending the season may be for a playoff spot if New York beats Seattle on the road (Seattle is fighting for a playoff berth in the NFC) and the Patriots defeat Miami.
Essentially the Jets are playing each game as if it is a playoff game. They are far from the only team doing such. Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers are suddenly hot and were lucky when three of the teams ahead of them in the NFC Wild Card hunt lost while the Packers defeated Miami. Jacksonville has come on, and is actually in the lead in its division, behind the sterling play of the number 1 overall draft choice from the same draft as Zach Wilson—Trevor Lawrence.
Pittsburgh won an emotional game on Sunday night at home, coming from behind to down the Raiders on the 50th anniversary of the “Immaculate Reception”, on the day the Steelers organization retired the number of the late, great Franco Harris, who caught that immortal ricochet of a Terry Bradshaw pass and scored to defeat those Raiders. That singular play began the Pittsburgh dynasty. This was out of Hollywood, as Harris had passed away just days before he was to be honored.
Somehow Tom Brady has momentarily righted the ship down in Tampa. They may win their division with either a 9-8 or 8-9 record. A lady at the gym cursed his good fortune and her husband stated that the Bucs are “going nowhere.” Plus Brady threw out that he will examine retirement in a more systematic way over the off season. Good approach this time, TB 12.
With two weeks left to go, six teams are playing for one remaining Wild Card spot in the AFC. In addition to Miami, Pittsburgh and the Jets, the Patriots, Titans and Raiders all still have hope and Tennessee can still win its division if Jacksonville falters. I’m not getting into who has clinched home field right now, as that is fluid for the teams already in the playoffs.
Similarly in the NFC, besides Green Bay and Seattle, three other teams are alive. The Lions, Panthers and Saints can get into the post-season, with Carolina and New Orleans able to win the NFC South if Tampa Bay falters. Those teams, along with Washington and the New York Giants, are competing for two spots. Once more, home field and the NFC East champs haven’t yet been decided.
Lest I forget the NBA. Five games were on ABC for Christmas Day. The Knicks, once on a roll, have now found themselves on a losing streak, as they were soundly defeated by Philadelphia at the Garden. Boston showed Milwaukee, for at least now, that they are the team to beat in the East (the resurgent Brooklyn Nets, without distractions from Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons, have won nine of the last ten and are a mere two games behind the Celtics.
The remaining games were from the Western Conference. First, Dallas, wearing kinda throwback jerseys, beat the chronically underperforming Lakers, who dearly miss Anthony Davis, once more sidelined by injury. Then the Golden State Warriors, minus Steph Curry, after a 2-4 road trip, came hime to punish the Memphis Grizzlies in a chippy contest. Finally, reigning M.V.P. Nikola Jokic, averaging 25.4 points per game to go with 9.4 assists and 11 rebounds a game, has his Denver Nuggets team leading the West and they showed the struggling Phoenix Suns why they are the leaders to end the holiday showcase. How do you say three-peat for the “Joker?” (P.S. not to be outdone by Jokic, Luka Doncic of Dallas had a historic performance on Tuesday night against the Knicks, putting up unheard numbers of 60 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists in rallying the Mavs from 8 down with 33 seconds to tie the score in regulation before winning in OT)
Forty-one years ago on December 26, I met this incredibly beautiful brunette on a blind date at her cousin’s home in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. You can say the rest is history, as we celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary on the 30th.
I bring this up to point out that we discussed a ton of things, including sports, at the door of her cousin’s home. I had told her that the next day I was headed to a Jets playoff game at She Stadium versus the Buffalo Bills. The Jets had a late comeback on that cold and crisp early Winter afternoon, but fell to Joe Ferguson and the Bills by a score of 31-27.
The pain of the loss was made a bit tolerable by meeting that joyous young woman. I was smitten and didn’t even realize it.
But that’s not the point. The fact is that the NFL opened the playoffs in December. The schedule was shorter—14 games back then—which led to less frigid conditions at times (although had they played this past weekend, I might have suffered frostbite with the temperatures not rising above twenty degrees; on this December 27th temperatures rose above freezing for the first time in a while).
Now, with the bucks (and I don’t exactly mean the ones from Milwaukee) have dictated longer seasons for the NFL with more games telecast nationally via Amazon and soon You Tube, along with five NBA games on Christmas Day instead of one or maybe two. A lot more fans had to brave temperatures to attend these games played on Christmas and over the weekend. Heck, the Buffalo Sabres lost two games to the horrible conditions in Western New York which have resulted in many deaths; even a game in Ottawa was postponed due to this storm.
In New Jersey, we deal with the fact that the Jets twice lost opportunities to have their home games indoors; once to the greed of a New York politician, Sheldon Silver, and the failure of the Giants to chip in for a dome on Met Life Stadium. Had the cheap Giants not been such penny-pinchers, I might have actually gone to the Jacksonville game on my wife’s birthday (with her, of course) instead of eating the tickets due to the downpour which hit the Meadowlands. Don’t you think I was envious of the fans in Minnesota, who sat in luxurious warmth and comfort as they conducted a white out indoors to cheer the Vikings to victory over…those darn Giants.
Then there is the hubbub over free agent Carlos Correa. The Mets have concerns arising from his physical, just as the San Francisco Giants did. Evidently, when mega contracts are agreed to, the extent of the examination of the player is much greater.
This is leading to speculation that other teams might re-enter the fray, seeking to get Correa for less years at less money. The betting is on the Mets and super agent Scott Boras reaching an agreement on a new pact. Even with the questions about his ankle and its sturdiness. Imagine the turmoil if Aaron Judge had a medical red flag.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. It is about the money. It’s crazy. Even the woebegone Jets are enhancing their coffers next year as the ticket prices will be raised. Perhaps as the team once more seeks a new quarterback to lead the franchise from playoff purgatory.
The fans get crazy, then bemoan the fact that the cost of everything a team offers—tickets, food, licensed products, etc.—all comes from their hard-earned jobs which pay a portion of the salaries and concomitant non-media generated profits affiliated with their favorite team.
It doesn’t stop with the pros. Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) is forever changing the college landscape. Recruiting is now done with this in mind. Letting the richer schools get richer while staying in the upper echelon. All at the expense of the fans—and I emphasize expense.
As we leave 2022 and head into 2023, with the football championship semi-finals entertaining us on New Year’s Eve and a full slate of NFL games of consequence on January 1, think of how much your team really means to you as opposed to how much they really feel about you. In terms of the bottom line.
These are my Year End Musings. Happy, healthy 2023, everyone.
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