Some of you have heard this rap before, as the Jets and Mets are always playing second fiddle to the established titans of the Giants and Yankees. They are supposedly the teams that own this town, and no matter what the Jets and Mets do, it isn't good enough. Well, after all these years, there is no way to undo this perception, and it has not helped that the Jets and Mets have performed poorly in recent years.
Last year, however, the Jets were steps away from the Super Bowl. Rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez led a team that defied expectations, and we excitedly watched playoff games that mattered to us as Jets fans. Now the team is back better than ever, though lacking Darrelle Revis on defense. And that has many of us nervous and worried.
Still, as the Jets step on that field tonight, they do so as a home team. Unfortunately, their home is still not their own. They share it with their rivals the Giants, and it is located in a state that is not New York. It is a tale of two different teams and takes place in two different cities. As Dickens noted in his famous book, A Tale of Two Cities: "It was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us."
Yes, Jets fans, it is another season where we have it all. And yet, we have nothing. If only Citi Field could have been built as a home for both the Mets and Jets. But that was not to be. The Dodgers left us and so too did the baseball Giants.
It's time for New York Jets fans to wake up and realize we are empty nesters. Our little green birdies flew the coop a long time ago. We can either be fans without a home or fans without a team. For now, I'm staying with the Jets, but like it has always been since 1983, it will not feel like a homecoming by any means.
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