Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the New York Jets fan is down in a pretty bad way. Let’s just acknowledge that and shove it aside at the top, while also admitting just how torturous this thing called New York Jets history actually is.
While these routinely tested folks are looking for something positive this offseason — on the heels of a miserable 3-14 season — this edition of the Super Bowl is a tricky one. I mean, of course, that would be the case for Jets fans; it’s only natural.
Sam Darnold, the once great hope of the Jets, has led his Seattle Seahawks to the big game this year. His opponent? None other than the team that has played in the Super Bowl more times than any team in the history of the National Football League.
Not only that, but the New England Patriots’ 12th Super Bowl appearance comes despite a change in leadership. It’s not Bill Belichick (former Jets head coach, don’t forget), as Mike Vrabel did the job instead.
Worse yet, Vrabel was the man Woody Johnson and company initially targeted last offseason, before anybody else, when the Jets’ head coaching search began.
Unbelievable.
Sure, Jets fans will be united in their Seahawks preference on Sunday, but that doesn’t make the matchup any less frustrating, given how history has brought us to this moment.
Worth mentioning tier
Super Bowl LX (2025): Seahawks vs. Patriots
Super Bowl XXXIV (1999): Rams over Titans
Super Bowl IV (1969): Chiefs over Vikings
Super Bowl VII (1972): Dolphins over Washington
Super Bowl XXXV (2000): Ravens over Giants
Super Bowl XLII (2007): Giants over Patriots
Super Bowl XXXIX (2005): Patriots over Panthers
Super Bowl XXXVII (2002): Bucs over Raiders
Super Bowl XI (1976): Raiders over Vikings
Super Bowl LI (2016): Patriots over Falcons
Super Bowl XLIV (2009): Colts over Saints
We begin with the notables section, where the St. Louis Rams’ thriller over the Tennessee Titans might come as a relative surprise to Jets fans. After all, what in the world do these two squads have anything to do with the Jets?
The Super Bowls on this page are filtered through a Jets fan’s perspective, meaning teams, players, and/or coaches will have some connection to the green-wearing New Jersey football franchise. St. Louis and Tennessee, coupled with the players involved, have next to nothing to do with the Jets, yet the 2000 Super Bowl (1999 NFL season) suffices.
It boils down to “missed opportunity.”
This was the season that Bill Parcells was supposed to run roughshod through the NFL en route to the Jets’ second Super Bowl title. Coming off a 12-4 campaign in 1998, the 1999 Jets were the preseason Super Bowl favorites.
Vinny Testaverde’s Achilles had other unfortunate plans.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ victory in Super Bowl IV was a great thing for the future of this modern NFL (helping solidify the AFL, a year after Joe Namath stunned the world), but the Jets fans who watched Hank Stram beat their team at Shea Stadium in the playoffs had a tough time in early January 1970.
The undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins are listed for obvious reasons (bitter rivals), and any of the Patriots’ appearances also make sense. Plus, sheesh, Super Bowl LI looked early tremendous, only for Tom Brady to orchestrate the greatest comeback in the game’s history.
In contrast, the 2007 season ended with a smile on Jets fans’ faces, courtesy of Tom Coughlin’s New York Giants. Never in their wildest dreams would they have thought the Giants would make their day, but that’s exactly what happened when they broke up the Pats’ shot at 19-0 perfection.
Last but certainly not least, there were plenty of Jets fans annoyed that Jon Gruden’s 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers featured Keyshawn Johnson at wide receiver. Aside from that, Super Bowl XXXVII was mundane.
Nagging frustration tier
The nagging frustration tier showcases more rivals, with the local blue team sprinkled in to add a flavor of pain to the New York Jets fans’ diet.
6. Super Bowl XXV (1990): Giants over Bills
Bill Parcells’s first championship triumph wasn’t too bad for the Jets fan. After all, it had been forever since the Jints had been a quality football team (the decade of the 1970s may have been worse than the Jets’).
The second one, however, was done in a surprising fashion and featured a bitter rival as the opponent. With Jeff Hostetler at the helm, the Giants upset the uptempo, K-gun-led Buffalo Bills in one of the greatest Super Bowls of all time.
5. Super Bowl XXXVI (2001): Patriots over Rams
Not only was New York City (and the globe) healing from Sept. 11, 2001, but Jets fans were forced to heal a second wound after the “Patriots” (yes, the “Patriots”) won the Super Bowl in the 9/11 season.
Bill Belichick, Jets head coach for a day (until a napkin had other ideas), stunned the NFL with a sixth-round quarterback. Kurt Warner’s Rams were pretty inconsequential from this perspective.
While Herm Edwards’s first season as Jets head coach ended at the hands of Rich Gannon, Charlie Garner, and Chuckie’s Oakland Raiders in the wild-card round, the Pats took advantage of the tuck rule, en route to glory.
4. Super Bowl XVII (1982): Washington over Dolphins
Damn, that Dan Shula, who made sure to muddy the grass in Miami with the express purpose of slowing down the fast Jets. Oh, better yet, damn that A.J. Duhe, the defender whose name is so frightening that no NFL fan can forget it.
Wait, what?
The generally forgettable Dolphins linebacker forever etched his name in Jets infamy when he picked off Richard Todd three times in the 1982 AFC championship game, one of which he returned to the house. Miami won 14-0, advancing to Super Bowl XVII.
On the side was Joe Gibbs and the hogs, with John Riggins running wild. Riggins, a former Jets running back they simply could not hang onto, bulldozed his way to 166 yards and a touchdown on an incredible 38 carries, and, of course, Super Bowl MVP honors.
Oh, the pain tier
The final boss of the painful Super Bowl for New York Jets fans is more recent, which makes all the sense in the world.
In the early 1980s or even 1990s, Super Bowl III wasn’t nearly as distant a memory as it is today. With each passing season (and even day, in the case of many of our respected Jets fan elders), the pain builds, and astonishment collects.
3. Super Bowl XLV (2010): Packers over Steelers
Who cares about the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers? Well, scratch that; Jets fans deeply cared about the Steelers playing in Super Bowl XLV.
Somehow, some way, Rex Ryan’s New York Jets came out as flat as ever in the AFC championship game that season. The scutlebut revolves around Rex tweaking the defensive front to a far too drastic degree, which allowed Mike Tomlin’s team to run all over them in the first half.
1/23/2011
2010 AFC Championship Game
It was a rough 1st half as the Jets trailed 24-3 but they had a chance getting it to 24-19 with plenty of time to play before the Steelers ran out the clock. Here are the Jets 2 TDs in the 2nd half including the last reception & TD in the… pic.twitter.com/BfcvqoF1r1
— New York Jets History (@nyjetshistory) January 24, 2024
Although Mark Sanchez and the offense did their best to make it a game in the second half, the Jets’ 24-19 loss is burned in every fan’s memory.
This could be the least-watched Super Bowl from a Jets fan’s perspective of all time, which is relatively funny considering it was Aaron Rodgers’s lone chip.
The Super Bowl from the 2009 season isn’t higher on this list solely because of how surprising it was for Rex’s first Jets team to reach the title game. Despite the hype happening while Braylon Edwards flew down the left sideline, fans left that game feeling pretty good about the future.
Plus, the New Orleans Saints’ upset of Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts was a jolt to the Jets’ system.
1B. Super Bowl XXXII (1998): Broncos over Falcons
So close, yet so far away. When Blake Spence blocked an early second-half punt to set up a Curtis Martin touchdown, it wasn’t just Fireman Ed who was celebrating. Jets fans everywhere, courtesy of an early second-half 10-0 lead over John Elway and the defending champs, were dancing in the streets.
Not even Wayne Chrebet magic could avoid what transpired.
Chrebet enjoyed a solid AFC championship game, particularly the first drive that put his team in field goal range, but the football gods weren’t willing to give the road team a chance.
As surehanded a player as they come, Keith Byars fumbled. Victor Green was beaten over the top on a play-action. Even a harmless Jason Elam kickoff fell short, just before bouncing in the air like a damn miracle for the Denver Broncos.
The worst part about Super Bowl XXXII is simple: Everybody knew the winner of the AFC championship game was going to destroy the Atlanta Falcons.
Well, there’s even something worse for the superstitious and/or universally-aligned Jets fan: Considering this was Super Bowl 33, it just made complete sense for the Jets to get back to the big game with those numbers (Super Bowl 3 initially, Super Bowl 33 after rediscovering prominence).
1A. Super Bowl XLVI (2011): Giants over Patriots
The only Super Bowl that can compete with the 1998 big game is Super Bowl XLVI, polishing off the 2011 season.
Not only did the Jets fan have to endure another Patriots Super Bowl, something that had magically and happily been absent the previous three years, but they were forced to see Eli Manning and company get there yet again.
While many Jets fans are indifferent as it relates to the Giants, this was the season Rex and company felt they could finally get over the hump. Not only that, but it was Victor Cruz’s 99-yard touchdown scamper on Christmas Eve that propelled them to their second unlikely championship run.
In honor of the Giants vs. Jets game this Sunday. Let’s take it back to the most iconic play in New York Giants History! This play galvanized the Giants playoff hopes.
Victor Cruz | 99 yards TD
“They know my name now, right?” #NYGiants pic.twitter.com/vFu9hRe8ua
— Eli Racks (@IamEliRacks) October 27, 2023
Hey, at least the Giants upset the Pats yet again, which is a win, but the pain of how that season unfolded in December and January, ultimately leading to the Super Bowl, was unbearable.
Plus, 2011 marks the beginning of the end. It’s the line of demarcation for current New York Jets fans who haven’t experienced the playoffs in 15 seasons, and a winning season in 10.