Like Father, Like Son?

Caution: What you are about to read can only be fully appreciated if you are a Jets fan.

Last night, the New York Jets football team crushed the Cincinnati Bengals to earn a playoff berth, their first since the 2006 season.

Aside from my sheer excitement – due to the fact that I am a long-suffering, but very devoted Jets fan – there is an actual “fatherhood” reason behind why I am writing about this.

If you know anything about the Jets, it is that they often find the cruelest ways to let their fans down. Just when they are on the verge of victory or greatness, they find an infuriating and depressing way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

This has been the case ever since Joe Namath – The Legend – led the Jets to their only Super Bowl win in January of 1969.

You are still wondering what the fatherhood connection is…

Well, one of the Jets coaches in that miraculous 1968 season that ended in their Super Bowl III victory was Buddy Ryan. The Jets head coach this season is his son, Rex Ryan.

Rex has said repeatedly this year that these are not the “same old Jets” who will let their fans down. Like his father, Rex is a no nonsense guy who says what is on his mind. His bravado is evident in the way his teams play – a tough, blitzing defense and a hard-hitting running game. His father was the same way – a defense-first coach whose “honesty” with his players, the refs, and the media often got him in trouble. Rex, in his first year as a head coach, is already showing signs that he will be the same way. In fact, three weeks ago he told the press that the Jets would not make the playoffs. Good thing he was wrong…

But for us Jets fans, let’s hope the similarities between father and son don’t stop with their “throw caution to the wind” personalities. A second Jets Super Bowl Championship would be the nicest “similarity” of all.