It was a really bad 48 hours for New York fans.
Most New Yorkers who follow their pro teams are split along the Yankees-Giants and Mets-Jets line. Maybe because the Yankees and football Giants are older franchises with more generations of fans, or the Mets and Jets just appeal to the underdog mentality.
But what happened from Saturday night through Monday night I wouldn’t wish on any city. The only solace might be that Jets fans were happy the Yankees lost to the Houston Astros to end their season before their team was embarrassed by the New England Patriots on Monday night football.
We’re talking about two different realities here, I know. Having won 27 World Series championships in their glorious history, the Yankees organization clearly claims that it is World Series or bust. But the Bombers losing the American League Championship in six games made nine years since they last got to the Series, period.
Owning one of the richest payrolls in baseball and loading up the lineup with sluggers doesn’t mean anything to Yankee fans. Only winning does, and one World Series ring this century while the arch-rival Red Sox have four is painful for anyone with a rooting interest.
So while Yankees fans may not care less about football, or the Jets, the city went from losing in the ALCS for a third straight year to witnessing one of the worst performances by one of their team in any sport in any year. The undefeated Patriots went into Met Life Stadium with the best defense in the NFL, and the game was over midway through the first quarter.
The Pats played poorly on offense, or the score might have been far worse than 33-0. New England forced five turnovers from Jets’ second-year quarterback Sam Darnold, who threw four picks and fumbled once. He was wearing a live mic, which was a pretty dumb idea by ESPN, considering the opponent, and Darnold came off the field after his third interception saying he was seeing ghosts out there. We’re not even sure what he meant, and it still sounded bad.
The Jets had pulled off a surprising win at Dallas last week, which gave them reason to believe they could play with the Patriots. Before seeing ghosts, Darnold was spooked by the blitzes and tight coverage of the opponent. The Jets left him in until the bitter end, throwing airballs to no one. So the city that never sleeps didn’t.
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