New Jets generation trying to make own mark
Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez runs on the field during NFL football practice in Florham Park, N.J. The Jets face the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship on Sunday in Pittsburgh. (Friday, Jan. 21, 2011) Credit: AP
On Feb. 6, one of four teams will win the Super Bowl at Cowboys Stadium.
It could be the Steelers, who have won six Super Bowls, more than any other franchise, part of a history that dates to 1933.
It could be the Bears, who have won nine NFL titles, second most of any franchise, part of a history that dates to 1919.
(First they must win the NFC's Halas Trophy, named for their iconic late owner and coach.)
It could be the Packers, who have won 12 league titles, more than any other franchise, part of a history that dates to 1919.
(If they do it, they will win the Lombardi Trophy, named for their own iconic late coach.)
And then there are the Jets.
Um . . . well, there was that 1968 season, when they won the AFL and Super Bowl championships, a feat that still stands glaringly alone in their 51-season history.
Beyond that, Gang Green is by far the greenest franchise on the path to glory.
Start with the wild-card round, when the Jets vanquished the Colts, a franchise that has four NFL titles - one in "The Greatest Game Ever Played'' against the Giants in 1958.
Next up were the Patriots, who won no titles in the 20th century but made up for it in a big way with their three early in the current one.
All of which will make it extra-delicious if the Jets somehow can complete their unlikely run to the victory podium in Texas - located in the home of the five-time Super Bowl champion Cowboys.
Much has been made of the historic phalanx of quarterbacks in the Jets' way, including six Super Bowl rings in the past nine years among Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger.
But as impressive as beating that trio would be, it would be just as much fun for longtime Jets fans to relish the larger historical context of vanquishing franchises that are part of pro football royalty.
The Steelers alone are steeped in the kind of legacy the Jets simply can't match.
With the death of Giants co-owner Wellington Mara in 2005, the Steelers' Dan Rooney inherited his role as Most Respected NFL Owner.
The guy is the United States ambassador to Ireland and has his own historic coach-hiring NFL rule named for him, one that helped land current Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.
Even their location is part of the lore of the sport, producing a disproportionate number of future stars, especially at quarterback.
Sure, the Steelers released local boy Johnny Unitas in 1955, allowing him to land with the Colts and win that famous '58 finale. But Unitas' departure did not prevent many western Pennsylvanians of the era from making him their childhood football hero. They included Joe Namath, who later played a part in the Jets' one shining moment.
Now a new Jets generation is trying to carve its place in history. Preceding generations set an admittedly low bar.
Those four playoff victories Mark Sanchez has in his two NFL seasons? They are two more than Namath had in his entire NFL career.
Shaun Ellis, who has been a Jet longer than any other active player, said winning Sunday would be a welcome step toward enriching the franchise's relatively thin history.
"It means a lot for us,'' he said. "To me, I'm taking it real personally. I want to go out there and do good and get this win for all the former teams that tried hard to get to this point and never reached it, for players like Curtis Martin, Mo Lewis and those guys, to be able to go out and reach that ultimate point, the Super Bowl."
Standing in their way is a team with a fistful more Super Bowl titles, a fact that does not intimidate coach Rex Ryan in the least.
"They've had six Super Bowl trophies," he said. "If they want to put them on the field, we'll play them, too.''
