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NY Jets fans begin 'grieving process' after Aaron Rodgers gets injured in first game
By
Catalina Gonella
and
Phil Corso
Published Sep 12, 2023
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Michael Owens/Getty Images
By
Catalina Gonella
and
Phil Corso
Published Sep 12, 2023
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New York Jets fans had been hoping this would be the year.
The team’s last (and only) Super Bowl title back in 1969 keeps getting buried by time. But the arrival this year of star quarterback and four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers left some of the Jets faithful thinking they may have found their weapon that would bring them back to glory. That weapon lasted four snaps in his first game with the team against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night before injuring his Achilles' tendon.
It was later announced on Tuesday that Rodgers was done for the season.
“I thought there was a lot of hopes. There was a lot of Super Bowl aspirations. And then it was all torn away very, very quickly after six to eight months of anticipation,” said Steven Kultzow from Westchester, who was walking in Midtown on Tuesday. “I feel awful. I'm distraught.”
The 32-year-old fan said he was just beginning to work through “the grieving process.”
“I'm waiting for tomorrow, where I can reach the acceptance stage.”
Rodgers, 39, was traded to the Jets earlier this year after an impressive run with the Green Bay Packers, where he made the playoffs 11 times and won one Super Bowl championship.
Queens resident Rob Alderdice, 45, said he was hopeful to see Rodgers bring a similar brand of success.
“It just sucks, man. Just so much hope and so much excitement and just, he's done — he's done for the year,” he said. “We were finally relevant. That was the big thing. We were finally relevant. It was nice to be relevant for a couple of minutes and then three minutes — it's over.”
New Jersey resident William Hartley said he had a feeling it was too good to be true.
“We always have the worst luck, with injuries, playoffs. Yeah, all around. It's just bad,” the 42-year-old fan said.
But he’s still hopeful. As a Jets and Mets fan — he was on his way to Citi Field on Tuesday — he said he’s used to keeping faith in the face of disappointment.
“It's only one game. The season's not over,” he said. “The Jets will be fine.”
Not all hope is lost. The Jets still ended up winning their first game of the season against the Bills 22-16 with help from quarterback Zach Wilson. They play the Dallas Cowboys next on Sunday.
“I always hope,” Kultzow said. “You’ve always got to have hope, even though it's tough being a Jets fan."
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Phil Corso
Phil Corso is the evening news editor at WNYC/Gothamist. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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