something I learned this week: a monday night miracle story

Something I learned this week is the power of believing.

It was 9:45pm on Monday September 11, 2023 and I was at a bar on Bell Blvd, Bayside with my buddies watching the Home Opener of the New York Jets 2023 Season. The Jets were introducing Aaron Rodgers to the New York scene and after seeing the Giants go 40-0 against the Cowboys, a day before, New York needed a pick me up and of course the Jets played on September 11th, a day that hits home with many native New Yorkers. The night started out with a lot of hype, as Rodgers ran on to the field carrying the American Flag a la Paul Revere marching on to the battle field against the red coats. But, this quickly turned into tension when on the 4th snap of the first Jets possession, our hero Quarterback we have all been waiting for to save the Jets went down with an injury. As shocking as this was to see Rodgers go down, if there is anything you need to know about Jets fans, it is that we no strangers to disasters happening to our team. So, with our veteran MVP officially out of the game, and young Zach Wilson stepping in, you could have sworn you had turned on the TV to watch a replay of an old 2022 game. This is where the Buffalo Bills took full advantage of our team and, that is exactly what happened. The defense did a great job holding Bills QB Josh Allen and the offense to just one field goal and one touchdown to keep the score 13-3 at half time.

But this is where I decided to call it a night for a few reasons. First, it was way past my bedtime. At my old age of 34, I am very much in bed by 8pm and lights out by 10pm so I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open. Second, things didn’t look good for us even if the score wasn’t so bad. I didn’t want to hang out a loud bar until 11:30pm just to see the Jets take home a L. But that’s where I was terribly wrong. Because as any NFL fan knows, Monday Night Miracles are very much a real thing.

I woke up the next day to my typical routine. Asking Google, “hey google, what’s the weather like today?” followed by "what was the final score of the Jets game?” expecting to hear a blow out score. But to my surprise Google responded: “The Jets defeated the Buffalo bills in overtime, 22-16”. I was immediately taken back and couldn’t believe what I had just heard. I quickly opened up YouTube and searched for the Week 1 Highlights of the Bills vs Jets game. After watching the 10 minute clip, I saw that the Jets defense was able to pick off Allen for 3 interceptions and Wilson managed to carry the offense to obtain 1 touchdown and 1 field goal to take the lead, 16-13 with just a few minutes left in the 4th Quarter. The Bills then evened the score with a field goal taking the team into OT with a barely there field goal that made the a donk sound so loud against the post it made your ears ring. The Jets earned the ball on the 2nd possession of OT and during the punt return, they took it home for a game ending touchdown to ice the Bills cold, thus securing the first W of the season.

So, what has this Monday Night Miracle taught me? It has taught me to remember to believe. Believe and trust that things will work out for the best despite how the circumstances look. I had doubted my team by Half Time last night and turned my back as a fan because the situation looked like any old Jets game. But of course I was terribly wrong. On my walk this morning, I reflected on what it means to trust and have faith in the Universe. Yes, I managed to tie in a Football game with a very spiritual concept of trusting the universe. We are all guilty of turning our backs on the universe when things aren’t going our way. But that’s life. Life has ups and downs and it’s when we are experiencing the downs, is when we need to believe and trust the most. Whether that’s having difficulties in your relationships, suffering from the uncertainties of unemployment or things just simply not going your way. I have come to learn in my life, that the Universe works in your favor but you have to believe. Believe strongly that things will work out for you in the end. So, as I sit here this morning sipping coffee from my Jets mug and wearing the same Jets jersey that I hung up in disgrace last night, I am reminding my self that even when times get tough, you have to do everything you can to just hang on and believe in something. I hope these words serve as a reminder for anyone who is reading and going through something right now to just hold on. No matter what happens this Season with the Jets, things will always work out to be okay.