The New York Jets

The New York Jets became a franchise in 1960 and were part of the new American Football League. The AFL was widely considered inferior to the more established National Football League until Broadway Joe Namath backed up his bold prediction and the Jets defeated the more established Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

They became known as the Jets after a new ownership group, which included Leon Hess who owned Hess gas stations, had plans to relocate the team to Shea Stadium where the Mets played. The Jets adopted their green and white uniforms to mirror the colors that were famously associated with the Hess gas station empire.

After the Jets won the Super Bowl in 1969 there were some lean years in front of them. In fact they didn't reach the playoffs again until 1981. Joe Namath was ravaged by injury and was never able to match his earlier success, the crowds at Shea stadium were dwindling, and in 1984 they left New York to play their home games at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

The Jets fortunes didn't improve much when they crossed the river into New Jersey. In the 1983 draft they chose quarterback Ken O'Brien to lead them. Ken O'Brien did a good job for the Jets; unfortunately they skipped over a young QB by the name of Dan Marino, which would haunt them for years to come.

The Jets have had a rabid fan base for years and they have supported their team in the lean years and winning years alike. When Coach Bill Parcells left New England to become the coach of the Jets he turned the franchise around almost immediately. While they did not win a Super Bowl during Parcells tenure they became a respectable franchise that would win a lot of games.

The Bill Parcells signing began a border war with AFC East rival New England Patriots. The Patriots felt that Parcells had been negotiating a deal with the Jets even as he was coaching the Patriots to an eventual Super Bowl loss to the Green Bay Packers, and the league agreed.

The New York Jets had to give the Patriots four draft picks and donate three-hundred thousand dollars to the Patriots charitable organization in order to name Bill Parcells as their head coach. This was the first shot fired in the border war. The next would come four years later after Patriots coach Pete Carroll was fired.

The Patriots wanted to hire New York Jets assistant coach Bill Belichik to replace their recently fired coach. Belichik had a clause in his contract that automatically made him head coach of the Jets if Parcells retired. As soon as the Jets received word that the Patriots were interested in Belichik Bill Parcells resigned as head coach and became the General Manager of the Jets. Bill Belichik had had enough of working under Parcells and he immediately resigned as coach of the Jets without ever having coached a game.

Now it was the Patriots turn to compensate the Jets for a coach. The league ruled that the Patriots had to surrender a first round draft pick to the Jets in order to sign Belichik as their coach. The Patriots complied and Belichik became their head coach. The Jets drafted defensive end Shaun Ellis and the Patriots had Bill Belichik as their new coach.

The Jets border war with the Patriots has been an interesting piece of Jets history, but ultimately that is nothing more than a side show to the games that are played every Sunday. The Jets are poised to make a run in the AFC East for years to come due to their loyal fan base and an owner that is absolutely committed to bringing the Jets back to glory.

Writer and editor, Freddie Brister, is a former high school football coach of 25 years. His love of the game of football is reflected in his words and memories of growing up in the South and playing football in the back yard with his brother, cousins and neighborhood friends. His biggest thrill is watching former high school players he has coached play at the college level. His favorite pastime is watching NFL on tv and attending the games in person every chance he gets. Freddie Brister is a huge fan of the NFL and the New York Jets.

By Freddie Brister