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Tortured Jets' Fan Base Among Those Who Most Deserve to Taste Title
Yes, the Jets do have one, but that one, and only, happened before man ever stepped foot on the moon.
The now-demolished Giants Stadium wasn't even built yet.
The Jets' lone Super Bowl title came more than 14 years before Aaron Rodgers was born.
"I noticed walking in this morning that the Super Bowl III trophy is looking a little lonely," said Rodgers, the man tasked with turning it around, during his introductory press conference.
It's been a long last half-century for the Gang Green fan base.
In addition to the decades-long inability to find a franchise quarterback, Jets' fans have suffered through excessive regime change over the past 30 years.
Since the late Joe Walton was dismissed in 1989, Gang Green has had 11 different head coaches and that doesn't include Bill Belichick's one-day stint. It does include names like Rich Kotite, Al Groh and Adam Gase — all of whom had pretty forgettable tenures at the helm.
Nevermind the Super Bowl, today's Jets fans haven't even tasted the postseason in 12+ years, living through the longest active playoffs drought in North American professional team sports.
READ Jets’ Super Bowl Odds Rise on Rodgers’ Effect
Having consistently suffered through misery, the franchise's fan base deserves a championship and NFL Network reporter Judy Battista appears to agree.
NFL.com surveyed six analysts, including Battista, and published their responses to "Which fan base is most deserving of a Super Bowl title?"
Battista's response:
PICK: New York Jets
"It was tempting to pick a team that has never won a Super Bowl -- the Bengals or Lions were the ones I wrestled with -- but the agony of Jets fans has permeated the NFL for so long that a Super Bowl for Gang Green under Aaron Rodgers might lift the collective mood even for people who didn't grow up hoping Richard Todd/Ken O'Brien/Boomer Esiason/Chad Pennington/Mark Sanchez/Sam Darnold/Zach Wilson would be the next Joe Namath."
All six NFL analysts selected different fan bases.
Jeffri Chadiha was one of four analysts who chose a franchise that is still searching for its first Super Bowl title, going with the Detroit Lions. Marc Ross backed the Cincinnati Bengals while Nick Shook selected the Buffalo Bills. Former NFL running back Maurice Jones-Drew picked his old team — the Jacksonville Jaguars.
David Carr voted for the Dallas Cowboys' fan base.
In addition to the Jets' fans deserving it, head coach Robert Saleh thinks his team can actually do it. The third-year head coach labeled his team as legitimate contenders to reach the mountain top.
"I think 32 coaches stand in front of their team every year and talk about winning a championship. Realistically, there’s maybe six-to-eight teams that have an actual chance to do it, and I do think we are one of those teams," said Saleh during OTAs.
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