We'll Always Have Hard Knocks

The life of a Jets fan has never been easy, but this year was going to be different. After years of tricking ourselves into Sanchez, and pretending that Flacco had anything left in the tank, Aaron Rodgers was finally under center, and he is a real QB. With the fanhood re-invigorated, myself included, the stage was set for an incredible opener against the Bills on Monday night. Even as the thunderstorms rolled out, an electricity remained in the air from the impending kickoff. I consider myself lucky to have been there - (Thanks Danny!) - although I certainly didn't know what was in store. The floor shook from fans racing up the escalators and competing chants of "Hey-ey-ey-ey" and "J-E-T-S" could be heard throughout the stadium. You'd think it would have been a sea of green for a Monday night home opener, but much to my surprise, the Buffalo Bills fans were there in droves to make their presence felt, and boy was it. As pumped as we all were, some of us shared an uneasy feeling. So many things seemed to be going our way, even though nothing had even happened yet, and from the very last row of section 346 I stood with excitement as the game began. After barely enough plays to consider it a football game the stadium erupted once more as Rodgers and the offense marched onto the field. It felt like a dream seeing him out there in a Jets uniform, but sadly, that dream quickly turned to a nightmare as Rodgers tragically ruptured his achilles, along with the hopes and dreams of the entire fanbase. Where I once stood in excitement I now hung in dismay as I watched our chances of postseason glory get taken under the blue tent. The team, the defense in particular, stepped up immensely after losing Rodgers and played an incredibly gritty game against a formidable week 1 opponent. In dramatic fashion, a special teams touchdown clinched the victory in overtime for NY, and as far as I see it, it was a great way to end the season. It feels like I saw our season start and end in the matter of an evening, but boy was it fun while it lasted. Time will tell if Rodgers returns next season, if at all, and we'll see if the front office can manage another miracle and bring in a new QB to lead this headless monster of a team. So as much as I look forward to the rest of the NFL season, I will always be wondering what could have been...

R.I.P. #8