KEVIN GREENE-ILLUSTRATOR

Well....it's football season again. As I get older it gets harder to transition from sport to sport as the seasons change.Plus I am really enjoying watching the Mets so it's twice as hard.But I watched the Jets yesterday and was quickly reminded why, of all sports teams, the Jets are the one that makes me the craziest. I've often told people that the closest I've come to insanity was watching a Jets game. I'm serious. About 11 or 12 years ago on Monday Night Football the Jets blew a lead to the Chicago Bears and allowed the game tying touchdown with NO TIME LEFT ON THE CLOCK. No time! And then they commited about 50 holding and false start penalties and lost in OT. I remember my ex-girlfriend Natalie sitting in a corner and staring at me as I screamed and lost my mind. I must have been frothing. I still can't believe they lost that game. There was also a game when Joe Walton was coaching when they lost to the Bills in what is probably the dumbest football game I've ever seen. And of course, there's the entire Rich Kotite season which was kinda like watching the Titanic sink every Sunday. And then, there's the playoffs. All old Jets fans cringe when the hear the name A J Duhe. And they had a lead in Denver in the AFC Championship a few years back at halftime. I admit, though, that was my fault. I broke a major rule that my buddy André and I have. I called at the half, I must've been giddy and stupid and I said "We gonna go to the Super-Bowl, man!" And André said " What are you crazy?!? You know we're not supposed to call each other during the game!". And he hung up on me. And the Jets lost. Damn. I carry the burden of that loss with me. And the year before last...well, anyway, you get me. So here I am watching yesterdays game and there are a few missed fiel goals and a missed extra point and I'm sitting there knowing, KNOWING, that a 16-0 means nothing. And sure enough the Titans come back score two touchdowns AND two 2 point conversions and TIE THE GAME. OH MY GOD. I thought the top of my head would pop off. But then something crazy happened. The Jets scored again and held on and won. Wow. That was nice. I felt so much better. And my son didn't have to see daddy run full speed into a wall.

And it was really nice to see Chad Pennigton back. I like him a lot and I think he's a good team leader. The team respects him and likes him and that's a hard thing to have sometimes. And he looked good too. I know it's gonna be a long, hard season and I know the Jets face a serious uphill climb to be in the league's elite but it was nice to survive this first taste of insanity.