I was watching the final quarter of the final game of ABC's 36-year run of Monday Night Football telecasts, and the Jets were trailing New England, 31-21.
The score was significant, to me—the Jets also lost the first Monday Night Football game ever played, to Cleveland in 1970. And during the 36 seasons in between, they haven't seen a Super Bowl, except on TV. Jet fans still cling to that image of Joe Namath waving his finger as he walked out of the Orange Bowl—37 years ago.
I remember another image: Namath, with his hands on his helmet after an interception that sealed the Browns' win in Game 1 of the ABC prime-time experiment concocted by Pete Rozelle and Roone Arledge. And the connections run deeper, for those into that kind of thing.
The Browns were later coached by Bill Belichick. Then the Browns left the league, and Belichick teamed with Bill Parcells at New England and then coached the Jets defense for three seasons.
The Browns came back into the league, and the Jets promoted Belichick to head coach when Parcells moved into the front office.
Twenty-six hours later, Belichick resigned. Then he took the job as Patriots coach, won three Super Bowls in four years, and beat the Jets in Game 555.
So does this all tie together in some twisted loop, or is it all merely coincidence? I suppose you can connect anything with anybody if you so chose. How does that six degrees of separation thing go again?
For those wondering, Monday Night Football isn't going away—like most everything else, it's moving to cable giant ESPN, the Wal-Mart of sports television.
And perhaps it's a bit unfair to blame the Jets' woes on the existence of Monday Night Football. They have had their moments. In what was later voted the most exciting Monday Night Football game ever played, the Jets were trailing Miami by a 30-7 score when Arnold Schwarzenegger came into the broadcast booth and boldly predicted the Jets would rally to win. They did, 40-37, in overtime, in a game that ended at 1:23 a.m. at the Meadowlands.
By the way—Schwarzenegger starred in Total Recall, along with Sharon Stone, who costarred in He Said, She Said with ... Kevin Bacon.
It all makes sense now, doesn't it?
Lance Burton (28-20)
Falcons +3 1/2 at Panthers
Buccaneers -13 1/2 vs. Saints
49ers +1 vs. Texans
Danny Gans (26-22)
Bills -2 at Jets
Ravens -3 at Broncos
Titans +3 1/2 at Jags
Oscar Goodman (24-24)
Ravens -3 at Browns
Steelers -15 vs. Lions
Seahawks +3 over Packers
Clint Holmes (24-22-2)
Bills -2 at Jets
Buccaneers -13 1/2 vs. Saints
Giants -8 at Raiders
Kevin Janison (27-20-1)
Seahawks-Packers under 40
Giants-Raiders under 43
Bills -2 at Jets
Mark & Merdeces (21-24-3)
Giants -8 at Raiders
Cowboys -12 1/2 vs. Rams
Jaguars -3 1/2 vs. Titans
Wayne Newton (27-20-1)
Colts-Cardinals under 44
Panthers -3 1/2 vs. Falcons
49ers +1 vs. Texans
Penn & Teller (24-24)
Steelers -15 vs. Lions
Colts -6 1/2 vs. Cardinals
Cowboys -12 1/2 vs. Rams
Rita Rudner (26-19-3)
Steelers -15 vs. Lions
Giants -8 at Raiders
Bills-Jets over 35
Sal DeFilippo once met James Woods, who starred in Any Given Sunday with Lawrence Taylor, who appeared in The Waterboy, which starred Kathy Bates, who was in Titanic with Leonardo DiCaprio, who starred in Gangs of New York with Cameron Diaz, who was in The Mask with Jim Carrey, who was in Batman Forever with Nicole Kidman, who starred in Days of Thunder alongside Tom Cruise, who was in A Few Good Men with Kevin Bacon.