A (former) Jets Quarterback Makes the Super Bowl

I have been to only one Super Bowl.

The year was 2012. The big game was played in Indianapolis, which meant it was a relatively quick drive from Chicago. I got press credentials and a friend gave me tickets, so I could watch from a choice of nose-bleed vantage points.

As a Jets fan, I was conditioned to dislike the Giants and despise the Patriots. And in 2012, those two teams made it to the Super Bowl. So, while I was excited to be there, it was impossible to decide which team to root for.

If you remember the game, Eli Manning had more magic than the GOAT, Tom Brady, and the Giants won. The Patriots had built a 17-9 lead in the third quarter with a touchdown by the infamous Aaron Hernandez. The Giants went ahead with 1:04 left after a nine-play, 88 year drive that featured a miraculous catch by Mario Manningham. Brady tried to bring the Patriots back, but the final drive fell short.

After the game, I got to go onto the field while confetti was still falling and visited the Giant’s locker room. It was an experience I won’t forget.

This year, after the Bears lost to the Rams, Championship Sunday was anticlimactic. And at this point, I can’t get worked up about the Seahawks, or even rooting against the Patriots, who someone got back to the Super Bowl while the Jets continue to wallow in, well, being the Jets.

Adding injury to insult, the Seahawks quarterback is Sam Darnold. Darnold was drafted by the Jets with the third pick in 2018. Darnold was one of the few Jets I recognized when I saw them lose to the Bears at Soldier Field in 2018.

Now Darnold is in the Super Bowl, so I suppose I’ll be rooting for him against the Patriots. No way I can root for the Patriots, am I right?

MORE FOOTBALL, MORE MONEY

Patriots owner Robert Kraft last week let everyone know that NFL owners wanted to push for an 18-game season. They would get rid of one of the exhibition games to get there.

This is an idea that is popular with everyone who loves football, except maybe the players who can barely get through a 17-game schedule in one piece.

Right now, there’s no business like football business, especially when it comes to TV. The NFL is enjoying record ratings and is on the brink of renegotiating its contracts with the networks that broadcast its games.

More games would equal even more money. The biggest win would come when the expansion leads to each team playing a game in an international city. In addition to expanding the NFL brands beyond the U.S., the league would be able to create a TV package of those overseas games and the global streamers–YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime–would likely be bidders.

Since the NFL salary cap is based on a percentage of revenue, the player would get a cut and would be able to limp to the bank. 

DID YOU SAY SALARY CAP?

After the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers signed Kyle Tucker to a $240 million deal, Major League Baseball team owners are again sounding like they want a salary cap. That would set up a likely lock out that I hope won’t start until after the 2026 season. 

The MLB Players Association is much stronger than the NFL Players’ union and will strenuously resist a salary cap. And if history is a guide, the players will prevail. Again. The difference is that the NFL owners are looking to increase revenue for their game, while baseball’s owners are looking to cut costs, salaries in particular. 

It seems to me football’s future is looking up, while baseball is heading for an ugly outlook.