Sports Then and Now

Mark Sanchez and the Jets made short work of the Oakland Raiders.

My long weekend trip to the Bay Area was topped by an outstanding performance on the part of the New York Jets defense as they completely shut down an already suspect Oakland Raiders offense with a shutout performance in front of an almost half empty Oakland-Alameda County Stadium. I know, as I said, I was there.

First off before game details I need to dispel some very untrue rumors, or urban legends if you chose, regarding the fans of the Oakland Raiders. Is it true they have their own section called the “Black Hole’ where even the most frenzied fan dresses up in costumes that would have any trick or treaters on Halloween looking over their shoulders? Yes it’s true.

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The Bills dramatic victoy over the Jets is the lone highlight of their young season.

So far, at least, it’s been a very strange season in the NFL. Some have called it bizarre.  I think that adjective applies.

The one thing that distinguishes the NFL from other major professional sports is its parity. That is no accident. The league has gone to great lengths from its straight bottom up draft (compare to the NBA’s lottery draft) to revenue sharing to salary caps, the league has done everything other than working a handicap into game scores to establish and maintain relative balance. The result is that the NFL is the most watched professional sport in the United States, and pro football has supplanted baseball as America’s pastime.

That being said, what’s going on this year? We’ve had a string of lopsided victories, including a 59-0 routing of the Tennessee Titans by the less than peak-performing Patriots. And what’s more, how have the Titans gone from winning 13 games last year to being unable to score 13 points this year? In addition, we have as many as five other teams that threaten the maxim that on any given day any given team can beat any other. More than once, sportscasters have said of the game they were reporting, “this doesn’t even resemble the NFL.”

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Rex Ryan and the New York Jets hope a visit to Oakland is what the team needs to get back on track.

Some media are saying that the Jets, after only six regular season games, have reached the crossroads to the 2009 season. After starting 3-0 and on such a high note with victories over Houston, New England, and Tennessee, the Jets have come crashing towards the ground with three consecutive losses against better teams for sure in New Orleans and Miami and the far less competitive Buffalo Bills.

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