Woody Johnson's little rant about a coin flip is looking pettier and pettier by the day. Word is that accusing the NFL commissioner of being a 1930's Chicago alderman might work against the Jets owner's dream of hosting the 2014 Super Bowl, something that could be called cutting off your nose to spite your face if it comes to pass.
That's nothing compared to the real takeaway from Johnson's pleas for a do-over, though. The Jets, according to their owner, are still a sadsack of a franchise in need of handouts from the league office to prove that they are on the same level with the big, bad Giants. According to everyone else, they are one of the league's foundations in the 2010 season.
They are the home team for the first Monday Night Football game of the season, a spot not normally given to teams that the powers that be think have no appeal to the viewing public. Coming off a trip to the AFC Championship Game, the Jets are going to get a lot of buzz heading into the year. That should be something Johnson thinks about before crying in his billions, especially when the Giants won't get half as much attention even with their blessed first home game.
It doesn't end there. The Jets have also been tapped to host the Thanksgiving night game, according to a report in the Newark Star-Ledger. That's a pretty nice platform for a team looking to capture the hearts and minds of football fans, even if their bellies will be otherwise occupied at that hour.
And, wait, there's more.
"Hard Knocks," the HBO show documenting training camp apparently has its eyes on the Jets as well. It's pretty easy to understand why TV producers would be interested. There may not be anyone in the sports world better suited for being followed around by a camera than Rex Ryan. Mark Sanchez has the face for the job and his comeback from knee surgery/growth as a quarterback is a killer storyline. Bart Scott's mouth can step into the role Chad Ochocinco played last season and the team's high expectations provide a solid backdrop for the whole thing.
The end result of all of this and something anyone paying attention already knew is that the Jets are going to be a top-tier NFL team at the start of the season regardless of their schedule.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com.
