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Haters Gonna Hate In Lead-Up To Jets/Steelers Game
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 21, 2011
Modified Jan 21, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jan 21, 2011
Modified Jan 21, 2011
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The city has been getting increasingly geared up for this Sunday's AFC Championship game between the Jets and the Pittsburgh Steelers. But while some elected officials are haggling over which state the team truly belongs to, many sportswriters are taking time out of their day today to bemoan the state of NY sports, and throw a little hate onto the high-flyin' Jets.
The Grey Lady gets things started with a piece in which they call NY "a champ when it comes to losing." They proceed to recount every miserable low of the last hundred years in the life of the major sports franchises, including: the Jets, who haven't won in 42 years; the Knicks, who have won two titles in 64 seasons, the last in 1973; the Mets, who have won two titles in half a century, the last one 25 years ago; and the Rangers, who have one once in the last 70 years. The only exceptions are of course the Yankees, and the Giants, who have won three championships in the 45-season Super Bowl era; as for college sports, the last local team to win the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball championship was in 1950.
Then, there's the Debbie Downer over at the News, who predicts that, fun and exciting as they may be, the Jets don't stand a chance against the Steelers. Of course, the writer is a die hard Steelers fan who waxes poetic about Pittsburgh-friendly bar Mustang Sally's and the camaraderie of hailing from the steel city. If ridiculous proclamations such as that are your thing, then Pittsburgh Mayor Ravenstahl is the man for you: "I'll make a prediction. The Jets won't score an offensive touchdown."
Rick Reilly at ESPN sums up the conflicted feelings the rest of the country feels for the effervescent Jets in an excellent piece where he literally goes point/counterpoint with himself over the team. "I hate the New York Jets because they have the same respect for people as tornadoes have for furniture. From harassing female TV reporters (Ines Sainz) to kneeing opponents' punt gunners (coach Sal Alosi) to rubbing victories in with postgame backflips (Edwards), the Jets could make you root for the dogcatcher...I love the Jets because if they beat Pittsburgh at Heinz Field, it will be the greatest road campaign since Genghis Khan. To beat Peyton Manning, Brady and Ben Roethlisberger, all from hotels? That's re-sick-ulous."
Tagged
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haters
jets
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Rex Ryan
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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