What's Up With Your Jets?!

I know I've had an impromptu, unannounced Hiatus over the past few weeks, but let's face it: There's just not that much to talk about as far as the Mets are concerned, or at least nothing interesting to say about it. That, combined with my being in rehearsal for a show has sapped much of my time and imagination.

I've mentioned before that I am a staunch San Francisco 49ers fan, despite the fact that I am not from, nor have I ever been to San Francisco. It's just one of those things that Bill Simmons would frown upon. I don't care. The 49ers were a great team throughout much of my youth, and have now settled into several consecutive seasons of overall mediocrity. I know they're not good, and I accept it. The NFL works in such a way that they will turn again.

That said, this NFL season has pretty much been a washout for me. I knew the 49ers weren't going to do much, and in fact went so far as to say I would purchase a J.T. O'Sullivan jersey if the journeyman QB led the Niners to 6 wins this season. He won't, although the 49ers have done better of late, and may yet win 6 games for the season. Their 5th win came yesterday at the expense of the New York Jets, which I consider to be the highlight of my season. Though I do have many friends and co-workers who are Jets fans, and, in fact, I attended a (rather forgettable) Jets game earlier this season (and I even boldly rooted for the Jets while watching the recent Jets/Patriots game at The Riviera in the West Village, which included a chance encounter with Bill Simmons himself), I somehow took a sly, sardonic pleasure in the Niners sticking it to the Jets. And I really enjoyed getting to wear my 49ers hat to work today just to annoy the Jets fans I work with. Far too often, several Jets fans I work with would come up to me during the Baseball season, usually after the Mets lost, and say something like, "Hey, what's up with your Mets!?" in a rather condescending, snide, Yankee-fan tone of voice.

Well, this was like my little bit of revenge. The 49ers, at 5-8, aren't going anywhere this season, but maybe their fortunes are turning after a pair of solid victories over teams with playoff aspirations. And trash talking is always fun, especially when it's at the people who have been laughing at the 49ers all season. These are the same people who scoffed at me when I dared to think that there was another team in the AFC that could beat the Jets! They were all ready to buy into the hyperbole and anoint the Jets the class of the conference. It's certainly easy to do that at 8-3. Now, the Jets have been exposed by a pair of lesser opponents, and that Jets fan Angst is slowly returning.

It's easier to not be disappointed when you had no expectations in the first place. I've taken the Niners season with a grain of salt. There was a lot of disarray and turmoil, but as the season is winding down, the team has begun to pull together a little bit. Yes, it's too late. But if they can spoil the seasons of a few contenders (particularly if I know fans of the team they beat), that's good enough for me right now.