"If we win it's expected, if we lose it's the biggest disappointment ever." - My buddy Rob before the Red Sox/Yankees Game 7 in 2004.
What do those two quotes have to do with each other? It helps me explain how we get from a Game 4 baseball game to a round 2 football game. Let us start with...
The Review
2004. Yankees had a foot on the throat moment where the Red Sox were the unwilling victim. Then Mariano Rivera started trying to pick off Dave Roberts and the Red Sox went from being the biggest chokers ever to the biggest comeback ever. Oh and they won the World Series. As a Red Sox fan I can tell you that beating the Yankees sweetened that World Series victory. I'm not talking a subtle smile sweetening, I'm talking tears streaming down the face while running around Brooklyn screaming "how do you like me now?!" victory.
2010 (into 2011). Patriots & Jets are both 9 - 2. Supposed game of the century. Patriots crush Jets and deliver condescending "nice try kids." Sort of like Yankees fans reaction in 2003 when Aaron Boone took Wakefield over the wall. Only football moves much faster than baseball and instead of waiting for next year they meet this year.
Background done. How the heck is this game equal to the seminal moment in Red Sox history? It always begins with...
Intense Rivalry That is Over-the-Top & One-Sided
After recording, oh about 30 interviews with Jets fans during the 2009 season for Same Old Jets: A story of Hope (aka The Jets Curse) I can tell you there are two teams they hate more than others: Dolphins and Patriots. With the Patriots being the most hated. The Yankees and Red Sox rivalry has probably had 10 million or so words dedicated to it.
Sometimes the rivalry is in the eye of the beholder, or the media in many cases. The rivalries actually have consisted of one team constantly bloodying the other. The Yankee fans wouldn't acknowledge the BoSox and the Patriots fans believe that the Jets are the punchline to the joke, "What's green and red and has mud all over it?" The Jets after they Patriots finish stomping them.
That was BEFORE the Jets made the AFC Championship last year and got some Swagger. Before Hardknocks. Before Tom Brady left pieces of the Jets all over the field in New England this year. Oops. Well you need to fail before you succeed. Like the Red Sox not quitting the Jets aren't quitting. Rex Ryan continues to talking trash about Brady. You need...
Overbearing Arrogance
If you're outside of New York (or a Giants in New York) you want Rex Ryan to quit. Originally I was going to say "be quiet" except you really want him to be quiet and quit. Revis Island. Antonio Cromartie calling out Tom Brady. And cheeseburgers on the field. Let me take you back to Red Sox 2004 which had "The Idiots" signifying a who gives a damn attitude, Pedro's little person in the clubhouse, Manny-Being-Manny, Johny Damon auditioning to be Jesus, and Kevin Millar's "Born in the U.S.A." video. If you were NOT a Red Sox fan you wondered a) how can people who won nothing talk so much, and b) can I hit them? Can I hit them repeatedly? With a large object until they go away. You also need...
The Villain (or Hero depending on where you live)
For a rivalry to get vicious you need someone to be the focus of your fan anger. You need: Rex Ryan & Pedro Martinez. Rex Ryan needs his own paragraph in this madness. If you are a Jets fan you NEED Rex Ryan.
You need him to lead bunch of malcontents like Santonio Holmes who gives a huge first down gesture after catching a ball *when his team is getting killed*. You need Perdo Martinez coming out to pitch when the Red Sox have a huge lead and nearly causing a riot. This was AFTER Pedro threw Don Zimmer to the ground (that is the New York point of view; to the Red Sox fan Pedro merely moved out of the way and Zimmer fell). Overall, you really need the players to believe in themselves (or if you’re the opposition you think is part of the Overbearing Arrogance). You don't have this and you don't win. Specifically you need a player who will...
Take a Swing
Taking a swing is where you have had enough and manage to change the expectations of the franchise. In 2004 it was Jason Varitek taking a swing at A-Rod. This year it is Nick Folk actually taking a swing. Nick Folk! By all rights a terrible kicker. Right leg like in motion, hitting the game winning field goal instead of Doug O'Briening it off the upright. Along with the swing you need to understand...
The Road Goes Through Your Enemies Lands
Boston and New York hold an intense love/hate relationship that is mostly hate. New York's mayor was born in Boston. A New York team ruined a perfect season. Or as one of my childhood friends said, "Why would you want to live in New York? It's filled with New Yorkers." You need to beat your enemy to have yourself a true victory. Plus your enemy tends to have a great finisher. In this case...
Mariano equals Brady
Mariano is the greatest closer of all time. Brady is arguably the greatest championship quarterback of all time (Joe Montana's ears just perked up somewhere). You have to go through them to get to the championship. That simple. Though when everything is said and ton and the intangibles are made tangible, you and need to win the game. Or in this case...
A Reason the Underdog Prevails
I WILL give you an actual football reason the Jets may win.
The Patriots defense cannot stop the run. Yeah, sometimes it actually comes down to the game itself.
As a Boston fan I now know how my buddy Rob felt before that game. It is about a lifetime of getting used to success. I also under why Craig feels that way about THIS game. I felt it as a Red Sox fan when Roberts scored. It was a lifetime of failure being lifted.
Look at that Boston and New York fans - understanding each other a bit more every day.
Wayne
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