ANOTHER CAMPAIGN ENDS

As I type this, at 9:58pm EST, the New York Jets have just lost the American Football Conference Championship to the Pittsburgh Steelers 24 - 19.

How do I feel? Disappointment. Frustration. Resignation.

Frustration they played only one half of football and still had a shot. If they'd played a full 60 minutes they'd have won by a lot. But they didn't.

I could nit-pick this and that. Mistakes. Reverses. Success. But I won't.

What I will say is this. Because its what I feel and I'm not bullsh*ting. Just said this to my dad, who I watched the game with:

Two years under coach Rex Ryan and 24 year old rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez, two men who have never held those positions before in their lives, and we've been to the AFC Championship game both years. Two years in a row in the final four.

That's amazing.

I can only hope that during the off-season the Jets can fix their inconsistency. This game revealed it more than ever. The first half of this game was the kind of performance I dreaded the last two weeks.

It chose a terrible time to show up. (when is a good time?) I can only hope they get a handle on it.

For instance, my father and I were disgusted watching the Jets blow a 21-7 lead against the Houston Texans at the Meadowlands November 21st. We were ready to walk out. They came back and won in the last second (30-27) and it was exciting. Having true grit enough to fight back and win was awesome. Losing that lead was not.

They've got months to fix it.

They're knocking at the door. One day it'll break.

Congratulations Rex, Sanchez, and the Jets on an amazing season. It was entertaining as hell, and if there was ever a true reason to keep hoping for that elusive championship, its what you've accomplished the last two years.

GO JETS.

MJW

NO FEAR! (THAT'S AN ORDER)

Wow what a game Sunday! The New York Football Jets upset the number one seed New England Patriots AT HOME, to advance to the Championship game of the American Football Conference. Wow.

I think I'm just recovering my full voice, and fully realized what this means. TWO years in a row my team is playing for the right to fight for a Superbowl Championship. To hold the Vince Lombardi Trophy over his head. To hoist it high for Jet fans everywhere to cheer. To release YEARS and YEARS - DECADES of futile dreams, shattered hopes and heartbreak.

That's what it'll take. One Superbowl victory will make it all go away. A clean slate.

And then, we go for another one. And another. And another.

You see, there's one thing I did NOT feel this Sunday. A couple of my friends did and it was interesting to see them experience it, because while it entered my mind, I didn't FEEL it. I did NOT feel that they would blow it.

I no longer feel that when the Jets have a lead and Tom Brady gets the ball with two minutes left, that they'll choke. Or that WE have to be the ones AFRAID in that position instead of THEM being scared. THEIR fans should be crapping in their pants.

THOSE DAYS ARE OVER, FRIENDS. No more fear. No more panic that we'll snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. BULLCRAP!

The Patriots were going for the onside kick after scoring. My friends seemed super tense. I said LET THEM KICK IT! We'll scoop the ball up AND SCORE AGAIN! (which Cromartie did and bolted straight into enemy territory - he had it on his mind the whole time. which was dangerous plucking the ball instead of falling on it, but...)

THAT'S the way I feel now. I expect the enemy to FAIL and that failure will doom them further. THEY should be cowering when we've scored on them to drive up our lead. THEIR fans should be squirming and we should be eager to finish the job.

THE OLD DAYS ARE GONE, JET FANS. THOSE DAYS ARE GONE. NO MORE FEAR. NO MORE SQUIRMING. IT'S OUR OPPONENTS TURN.

On to Pittsburgh. Will they win? Don't know. CAN they win? Yes. Though plucky, this team HAS been inconsistent this year. We'll put up 38 points one game, zero in another. Indianapolis was missing some star players. New England's defense was NOT all that. Neither of those teams are their teams of old. Pittsburgh did not have their defensive star Troy Polamalu.

So we'll see. But I'm confident they're ready. They're fired up. They seem to believe they can win it. They seem to believe they are the best. Were going into the tournament. Arrogance? Maybe. Confidence? Positive thinking? Who cares. It's working.

Good luck, Jets. I'm excited. I'm with ya. All of Jet Nation is behind you, including all the band-wagon New Yorkers and fans across the nation who's team is eliminated and they need someone to champion. We'll take'm all.

Now YOU guys take us to the promised land. PLEASE.

MJW