the rix mix

New York is a baseball town.  We have no major college football here, & none of our three Big East basketball schools have done much lately. When the other professional teams aren't winning, baseball rules here from March to - usually -the Yankees post-season, & off-season news like trades & contract negotiations get lots of attention. Had The Jets missed the playoffs, sports pages & radio would now be turning toward baseball, serious hot stove talk, with an eye on The Knicks & Rangers. Ryan kept The Jets on the back - & often the front - pages of The Daily News & Post. That is a remarkable achievement. We haven't had so much trash talk & general weirdness since the '86 Mets. But those misfits won a memorable World Series.

As a team & brand, the Yankees have, over the past 15 years,  moved into class unto themselves. There's no parallel to their success.

The Giants, Knicks, & Rangers are storied, history-laden teams with  fiercely loyal fans. The latter two play in Madison Square Garden.

The New Jersey Devils &  New York Islanders, both of which have had their moments,  are actually suburban hockey teams, although the Devils are now in Newark NJ.

The Nets, originally The Americans, were an ABA franchise -  a good one -  that wandered from Jersey to Long Island & back to Jersey, & is now in Newark until an arena is built in Brooklyn. When they do move, they'll shed most of their Jersey fan base. They're in flux.

The NY Jets, formerly The Titans of the AFL,  came to Jersey from the Polo Grounds, then Shea Stadium. They share a stadium with The Giants &, except for the Joe Namath era have always been the second football team here. Their fans - a geographically diverse bunch -  have an inferiority complex. To understand why Rex Ryan has so many defenders, you have to understand this complex. Rex Ryan does.

Although I'm not an NFL fan, The Jets kept me amused until they became the sole focus of attention over recent weeks. I was most fascinated by wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery, A soft-spoken native of Alabama out of North Carolina State,  articulate & intelligent. I've never heard anyone so consistent at substituting a "d" for "th" in the words the, these, those, there, them.  Den,  he  sounds like William Bendix playing da guy from Brooklyn in a fox hole in a World War Two movie - if Bendix also had a smooth, southern voice.

When the Giants made their improbable run to the Superbowl & Championship in 2008, nearly the entire New York area jumped on the bandwagon. I doubt that would've happened with The Jets had they won yesterday. I resented all the references to "magic carpet ride,"miracles," "star dust," "sports gods," etc. The Mets, by tradition & the example of their  two championship series, are the only team in New York requiring supernatural intervention.  They needed it as underdogs in '69 & as arrogant alpha dogs in '86. They pay dearly in other years for this rare other-worldly assistance. All the other local teams win on talent & the residue of design called "luck." The Jets had their two revenge wins over The Colts & Patriots, then went to Pittsburgh as if a game plan were sufficient without will, intensity, & hunger. They ran into a tough, experienced team, one that reminded me of the 2009 Phillies, reigning champs that swatted aside the Rockies & Dodgers before losing to the Yanks in 6 interesting games.

Labels: baseball, music, religion, sports