The Leaves Have Already Begun To Fall For Me

  I have always harbored this thought about the loyal Chicago Cubs fans, who had to endure over 100 years of losing before winning the World Series in 2016. Ditto the New York Rangers fandom, of which I was one for a long while—1940 was the last time they won a title until breaking through in 1994.

That thought was simple—how did the fans survive year after year of not winning a championship? For here I am, a New York Jets season ticket holder, and I am absolutely dejected about this season. Repeatedly tormented like I’m in the Bill Murray movie Groundhog’s Day and stuck in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. 

My wife and I sat through the remnants of Tropical Storm Ophelia with the hope that the Jets would halt the 14 game losing streak to the New England Patriots, coached by the evil genius, Bill Belichick. Knowing full well that the team may have won versus Buffalo in its opener, but the next week showed all the vulnerabilities of the team as the Dallas Cowboys thrashed the Jets. (Dallas remains King of New York in football with wins over the Jets and Giants, but was humbled by Arizona in the desert on Sunday)

Without Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers at the helm, the team has resembled  what it looked like last season. This was supposed to be a season of learning for Zach Wilson, mentored by Rodgers as the veteran had done during training camp. Wilson had shown some bits of promise during his years running the offense; last season was an utter regression for the former #2 pick in the draft. 

Thrust unexpectedly into the starting role. Wilson has not been any better. Sure, the coaching staff and the players support him. But his play has been uninspiring for the most part. Which means that the punter will be the unsung hero for the Jets, as he will get plenty of work with the team failing to score much. 

There was a clamor for the Jets to pursue a veteran quarterback—perhaps from a team which could jettison somebody or a recently retired veteran. Laughingly, even Tom Brady’s name was floated as a one year replacement. Instead, the team remains led by Wilson and he is backed up by one Tim Boyle. Query: why didn’t the Jets get a veteran backup in case Rodgers did indeed go down like he did?

Yesterday, while the Miami Dolphins hung 70 points on the woeful Denver Broncos and Buffalo routed Washington on the road, New England secured its first win of the season in dominant fashion, even if the score was only 15-10 and the Jets actually had a chance to win the game on the final play as Wilson’s desperation heave into the end zone glanced off the arm of wide receiver Randall Cobb and fell to the ground. New York is at the bottom of the AFC East, tied with the Patriots, but headed downward fast. 

On Sunday night, the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs come to town, with star Patrick Mahomes II perhaps a doubtful participant after suffering an ankle injury which hampered his mobility only so much in a 41-10 romp over the Chicago Bears. The Jets will be a big underdog; the only question will be if tight end Travis Kelce’s reported girlfriend, singer Taylor Swift, will attend. She was clad in Chiefs’ gear, seated in the Kelce family seats next to his mother, cheering on her beau and attended a post-game party at a chic restaurant.

That’s what it has come to for the Jets. Wondering how bad the next loss will be and whether or not Taylor Swift will be at Met Life Stadium. 

The only time the Jets won the Super Bowl was in the 1969 season. As Rodgers deadpanned, that single trophy inside the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park, New Jersey looked awfully lonely. 

And it will remain so as long as Zach Wilson is guiding the team. Sure, there will be some possible wins. The fairly solid defense will get worn down—at times it looked very vulnerable when attacked by New England QB Mac Jones. Then there will be nothing but another season of despair. What makes this worse is that three games into the season you can stick a knife into the Jets—they are done, just like a Thanksgiving turkey.

In some Monday morning quarterbacking, I watched college football this weekend. Starting on Thursday night, when Franklin and Marshall pounded The College of New Jersey. This arrangement of the Centennial Conference against the New Jersey Athletic Conference has been one-sided—surprisingly well in favor for the Centennial schools. We’ll see how the Diplomats fare against arch-rival Dickinson in the conference opener. 

The talk of Rutgers having improved based on three wins over Northwestern, Temple and Virginian Tech—all at home—meant nothing in the first road contest at Michigan. The Wolverines may have struggled early. The final score of 31-7 showed how the #2-ranked team is light years ahead of the Scarlet Knights, as Michigan shut out Rutgers for the final 59 minutes of play. 

I don’t think Michigan is the second-best team in the country. I watched Ohio State make an improbable comeback in Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday night, to stun the Irish by scoring the winning touchdown with one tick left on the clock. The Buckeyes, currently occupying the fourth spot in the rankings, looked every bit as good as a team like defending champion Georgia, or Texas, which has defeated Alabama and Baylor on the road.

Also, #6 Penn State vanquished Iowa on Saturday night, shutting out the Hawkeyes. Fifth-ranked Florida State was fortunate to roar back at Clemson to win in overtime. 

Every one of these teams has championship aspirations; Alabama too. So do the Pac-12 schools: USC, Utah and Washington. Even #16 Washington State believes it can win the crown this season, perhaps in a poetic justice fashion as the conference folds. 

It is going to get interesting as conference play takes center stage. At least we learned that Oregon, ranked ninth, demolished Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes. We should have seen it coming—lightly-regarded Colorado State took its in-state rival to OT the week before, exposing the myriad of weaknesses the Buffs have. 

By the way, the Atlantic Coast Conference has six unbeaten schools, which ties the ACC with the Southeastern Conference of 2012 with the most teams in a Power 5 conference since the polls started in 1936. That’s FSU, Miami, Louisville, Syracuse, plus arch-rivals North Carolina and Duke. It is the first time since 1971 that the Tar Heels and Blue Devils have been undefeated in their first four contests. Duke is such a feel good story that ESPN is sending its College Game Day crew to Durham ahead of Saturday’s clash with Notre Dame. 

What was surprising was Bryant defeating Princeton in overtime. Bryant evened its record at 2-2, with a loss at UNLV, a win over LIU and a loss to Brown. Princeton won its opener at San Diego, and this loss ended a 17 game non-conference winning streak for the Tigers. 

Also in the Ivy League, Harvard soundly defeated Brown. Yale is 0-2, having lost to a tough Holy Cross team, ranked #6 in the FCS, which has only a three point loss to Boston College to mar its record, and then was soundly beaten by Cornell. 2-0 Harvard faces Holy Cross this week; 1-1 Columbia roars into Princeton on Friday night. Unbeaten Penn hosts Dartmouth on Saturday. Handicapping the Ivy League to the end of the season is going to be hard to do. 

Being merciful to my readers about the eliminated New York Yankees, Gerrit Cole shut down the Blue Jays in a masterful performance on Thursday night to all but secure the AL Cy Young Award. Deservedly so. 

On Friday night, Aaron Judge reminded us why he is great. Three home runs and a double, six runs batted in. First Yankee to have two three home run games in a single season. 

The AL East, overall home field and Wild Card spots have not yet been settled. In the National League, the 100-win Atlanta Braves have not yet secured the top seed, leading the Dodgers by 3.5 games. There is still Wild Card drama involving Arizona, the Cubs, Florida and Cincinnati. MLB should be fairly happy heading Into the final week of the season. 

For me, it is just another fruitless season for the Jets, and what has become a regular occurrence for the Yankees after last winning the World Series in 2009.

While it is Autumn, the leaves have already begun to fall for me.