Let's face it: Sunday's loss still stings, and we're all still suffering, struggling to come to grips with the reality that the 2010-11 Jets season is over.
Everyone's been handling it differently. Maybe you've chose to completely avoid sports media outlets so as not to constantly see William Gay run in the "fumble" that wasn't for a touchdown, or hear about those damn "terrible towels."
Or maybe the depression has hit, and the realization that the 2011-12 NFL season is in jeopardy has sunk in. Furthermore, a possibly-reinstated salary cap would force Gang Green to lose some potential free agents and field a new-look team next year.
Well, Erik from Jets Twit recently posted two great pieces to help lift our spirits a bit, and I wanted to pass them on to you if you haven't seen them.
Lori Brannigan, a life-long Jets fan from D.C., had the pleasure of meeting Aiden Binkley's father at Sunday's Jets-Steelers game and wrote a short letter about it.. In case you didn't remember, Aiden Binkley was the 11-year-old child who recently passed away from cancer, and Sanchez had reached out and vowed to win the Super Bowl for him. Jets fans installed a "win it for Aiden" movement on Twitter, in which over 200 fans changed their avatars to a customized image to show their support.
Erik Manassy, our friend and founder of Jets Twit, ran into Dennis Byrd in Pittsburgh, and had a conversation with the Jets legend during an autograph signing. A very powerful video, indeed, and here it is:
... Lori's tidbit after the jump.
Lori's experience on meeting Mr.Binkley:
Here's some perspective I'd like to offer on last nights loss. I was walking out of Heinz Field along with many other frozen Jets fans, feeling sick over our loss. When I got outside of the stadium @AlanLern and I noticed a group of men wearing green jackets with the name "Aiden" stitched on the back. We approached them assuming they were the relatives of Aiden Binkley. One of the men was Aiden's father. I introduced myself, offered my condolences to him and told Mr. Binkley that his son had inspiredscores of people who he had never met.
I told him about the "Win it for Aiden" Twitter avatar movement started by @ChrisSwann26 and how more than 150 Jets fans had changed their avatars and vowed to keep those avatars until the season was over. Mr. Binkley was clearly touched by the gesture. He gave me a warm hug, a thank you and we went our separate ways. I started to think about the Jets, about @Mark_Sanchez ‘s selfless acts of kindness towards Aiden and the Binkley family and I realized that sometimes what happens on the football field pales in comparison to what happens off the field.
Don't get me wrong, I, like every other Jets fan, want desperately for our team to bring home a Superbowl win, that is after all the whole point. Maybe this just wasn't our time. Maybe this was time for other things to happen, other things to get accomplished. Maybe this is the prelude to our time. But our time will come, with this team, I am certain of it. As I walked away from Mr. Binkley, I thought less about the score, less about the screaming Steeler fans, less about the sick and disappointing feeling I had over the loss. What I did think about though was Mark and Aiden and how proud I was at that moment to be a Jets fan. J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets.
I want to add that both of these two have really given a lot to the Jets organization and are die-hard fans. Erik is a long-time season-ticket holder who travels from PA and attended nearly every home game as well as Pittsburgh. Lori, was at all of said games, as well as New England. Oh, and she does all of it travelling from Washington D.C... Both plan their weekends around Jets football, and how early they can get to Lot 7 to begin tailgating! That's what football is all about.
While we may all have our own rituals and pre-game activitiesduring game day, we're all united by the cause. Go Jets.
Follow Erik on Twitter: (@E_Man) / @JetsTwit)
Follow Lori on Twitter: (@Double_O_Six)