60 Minutes to the Super Bowl

(22nd January, 2010)

For many people in the metropolitan area, it is an exciting time.  This Sunday afternoon, at 3pm EST, the underdog New York Jets will play the Indianapolis Colts for the right to represent the AFC in Super Bowl XLIV.  The last meaningful game between the two teams was SB III, when the Jets actually played in New York.

Then, the Jets were instilled as 17-point ‘dogs, which ultimately prompted Joe Namath -the brash, young quarterback of the American Football League champions- to guarantee victory.  [Note: that game was the last Don Shula coached for Baltimore, as a contract dispute with owner Carroll Rosenbloom paved the way for his move to Miami].

Forty-one years later, it is Rex Ryan, the rookie coach, who is on the hook for such pearls of wisdom; he has already gone so far as to plan the subsequent ticker-tape parade.  It is laughable, now, that Ryan was apologetic immediately following New York’s 10-7 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on December 20.

The most significant moment of the Jets’ season occurred in Week 16, when Jim Caldwell, the coach of the then-14-0 Colts decided to prematurely end his team’s regular season.  Ahead 15-10 in the third quarter, Caldwell felt the urge to bench Peyton Manning -the league’s best quarterback- and a host of other starters for fear of injury.

The fans inside Lucas Oil Stadium were not pleased.  Soon, Indy’s unbeaten season was gone, as well as the record 23-game winning streak it had built.

Had the Colts won, the Jets would’ve been eliminated from playoff contention, and Ryan’s apology would have proven to be prophetic.  However, New York rolled past Cincinnati on consecutive weeks to continue its magical season, and is now in position to send Indianapolis packing with a 60 minute game for the ages.

Which is all it would take to complete a belated trip to Super Sunday.

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