A few weeks ago, UB alum and former Spectrum assistant sports editor Corey "Goon" Griffin traveled to the Queen City for a Jets loss. He was forced to face the embarrassment of losing a bet to our friend and then wearing a Bills jersey that was much too small for him.
This past Sunday, he was the host when I traveled to New York to go the Jets game with Corey to watch them play my favorite team, the Philadelphia Eagles.
After we left Corey's house at the ungodly time of 7:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning, Corey, his dad Mr. Griffin and myself arrived at Giants Stadium for some tailgating at around 9 a.m. Normally I would still be sleeping at this time on a weekend, but on this day I was eating corned beef sandwiches.
Jets fans tailgated nearby and gave me a hard time because I was wearing an Eagles hoodie. Mr. Griffin joined in and informed me, "If the Eagles win, you will be walking home." Awesome. I knew he was kidding. At least I hoped so - I didn't know where I was.
We headed into the stadium around 12:30. I was disappointed that my game program was not one with a winning game piece for a Thomas Jones bobble-head. I may not be a Jets fan, but bobble-heads are awesome - especially free ones. Hopefully, this will be the only unfortunate moment of the day.
The game was a battle of two struggling teams. The Eagles came into the game at 1-3 and the Jets 1-4. The good news was that somebody had to win.
It seemed ironic that the Jets were wearing their throwback uniforms from the Titans of New York. This certainly was no battle of any titans, as both teams will be lucky if they make the playoffs, especially the Jets (sorry, Corey). At least the uniforms were hideous.
Still, the throwback uniforms the Eagles wore against Detroit earlier in the season were worse. That was also the one game that Philly had won entering Sunday's contest. Detroit was probably too distracted by how ugly their opponent looked.
Speaking of ugly, let's get back to the teams on Sunday. On the field before the game, the coin toss had an uneven balance of players from the two sides.
"The Eagles send three captains and the Jets send 19," Corey said.
Without counting, I felt he was not exaggerating by much. Regardless of the insane number of players the Jets had at midfield, New York ended up receiving the ball first.
Jets running back Thomas Jones looked solid on the first drive. He ran New York into Eagles territory quickly. Jones had 36 yards on his first carry, followed by an 11-yard gain.
Since Jones rushed for a lot of yards early, it served as a nice reminder that I did not win his bobble-head. However, New York tried one too many runs on the opening drive and it stalled around Philadelphia's 12-yard line. The Jets kicked a field goal, and I felt lucky that they did not get a touchdown.
When the Eagles got possession, Donovan McNabb connected with Kevin Curtis, who caught the ball about 10 yards downfield and ran for 65 more and a touchdown. I cheered, but not too much since Corey is bigger than me. This play was the best either offense looked all day.
The Jets added two more field goals and the Eagles got three of their own. The game ended in a 16-9 Philly victory. It was not pretty, but it was a win for the Eagles, nonetheless.
"I don't know what to say," Mr. Griffin said.
The three of us returned to the parking lot to eat a little more food before heading back to Corey's house. I kept quiet while the two of them walked back to the car in disappointment, feeling that the season was now over and it was time to replace quarterback Chad Pennington.
Once again, Corey and his Jets were on the losing end of the football game. I was glad I did not make the trip from Buffalo to New York to see my team lose, as Corey had traveled in the other direction a few weeks ago. No bet involved this time, however. Much to the dismay of our friend, I also did not rub it in Corey's face. I needed a ride home and a place to sleep that wasn't on the street. Also, I already mentioned that Corey is bigger than I am.
Besides, my Eagles did not look too great in the victory, so I know I just have easily could have been on the other side of the situation. I probably will be, when the Eagles play an opponent who does not start Chad Pennington.
