Christopher Nimbley - Finally the lockout is no more with some football related activities and transactions beginning as soon as tomorrow. You’re excited, your friends as well as your enemies are excited, hell who isn’t excited about the return of this country’s most beloved game?
Well the question really shouldn’t be who is excited or not, NFL fans don’t want to hear a word from anyone whose not excited after all. No the real question is who is the most excited? And you only get one guess and if you guess wrong you should be ashamed of yourself.
With the NFL lockout now officially over (FINALLY!!!), there is no man happier than Rex Ryan and he is already talking. (Jetsinsider.com Photo).
Writers everywhere are thrilled to learn that they can return to covering actual football news instead of following the NFL’s own version of Court TV (or Tru TV). Players are excited to get back with their friends and teammates and play the sport that they love, of course getting those paychecks again won’t exactly hurt their happiness levels. While the owners are off somewhere rubbing their hands together all sinister like as they softly mutter ‘excellent,’ over and over again.
All of these people are ecstatic about football being back, but with all due respect to their enthusiasm none of these people are Rex Ryan who has to be downright giddy right now.
For proof of this (not that any is needed), just take a look at what Jenny Vrentas of the Star-Ledger reported happened at an Jets organization meeting this morning.
The meeting was held for the day-to-day employees of the organization who don’t fill up the stat sheets or make the headlines, but did see their paychecks cut due to a lockout they had no say in. But just because these employees won’t be suiting up to take to the field doesn’t mean Ryan wasn’t more than happy to have a group of people to light a fire under once again.
“I challenge myself to win a Super Bowl,” Ryan told the group of employees, per Vrentas’ source, “and I challenge you, too.”
Owner Woody Johnson informed his employees that the money they lost during the lockout has been returned to them and now that the lockout is behind them its time to get back to work. Then came time for Ryan to speak and show that he hasn’t lost a step.
According to Vrentas a source inside the meeting told her, “The Giants talk about the past, Ryan told the room, but the Jets talk about what we’re going to do in the future.”
And that right there perfectly sums up exactly what Rex Ryan has meant to this, now, proud franchise. The Jets were a lost and floundering franchise before the gregarious coach took the helm and this is what is so often lost on the people who criticize the coach for his boisterous ways.
No matter how good a particular Jets team was before Ryan, they were never taken seriously because after all they were still the Jets. Somehow, someway they would find a way to let their fans down. The Jets have yet to reach the promise land under Rex, but people have never believed in the Jets as much as they do now and despite the immense amount of talent that scatters this roster, its because of the coach and his belief in himself and everyone within the organization that the Jets are looked at as an actual threat and not just the same old Jets.
According to Vrentas Ryan assured his fellow employees that the team will have the resources to sign all the players they need to finally back up his claim that the Jets will be Super Bowl Champions. Of course the responsibility of making sure those players get signed in the creative way that will be necessary to get it done will fall on GM Mike Tannenbaum’s shoulders, but maybe some of that, ‘all the players want to play for Rex’ magic will come in handy.
There is no doubt Jets fans are getting more and more excited even as they read this, but it is almost insulting to insinuate anyone is more thrilled than Ryan. Once Sunday comes and training camp is under way it will be quite interesting to see how exactly Ryan attempts to contain his excitement over having his loyal troops back ready to serve their magnanimous leader.
The lockout is over, football is back and Rex Ryan is ready which means so are the Jets. Dallas Cowboys beware, you are officially first on notice.
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