Jets vs Colts AFC Championship Game | History Repeats Itself
The AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl III
This Sunday, the NFC and AFC Championship games will be played to determine who will be going to the Super Bowl.The NFC game will pit the New Orleans Saints against the Minnesota Vikings, and the AFC Championship will also be fascinating, or at least to football geeks like myself.The seemingly unlikely winners and upstart New York Jets are facing off against the Indianapolis Colts, a playoff institution, and it’s tipped as Super Bowl III all over again.It would easily be worth payday loans to watch in person, but I guess I have to settle for the small screen.
Back into the pages of history
When the NFL and AFL merged, AFL teams were considered to be younger and softer than their more established NFL counterparts. Super Bowl III matched a living legend, and a legend in the making – Baltimore’s (this was before the infamous “Midnight Ride” which took the Colts to Indianapolis) Jonny Unitas, and the Jet’s Joe Namath at quarterback. The Colts were heavy favorites, though Unitas was at the time the back-up to Earl Morrall (who was no slouch, by any means), and were given an 18 point spread over the Jets. Namath, fed up with all the talk about how his team was doomed, famously grinned (and holding a cocktail – it was Namath, after all) and declared, “We’re gonna win the game.I guarantee it.”
He was right.The Jets won, beating one of the finest football teams of the time outside of the Green Bay Packers.(Who were at the time a dynasty - it isn’t the Vince Lombardi Trophy for no reason.) It was considered one of the biggest upsets of all time.
This Upcoming Sunday
This Sunday, Mark Sanchez, a very talented rookie quarterback on a hot streak, is going to walk into Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to take on the Colts, led by Peyton Manning, easily one of the best quarterbacks of the last 10 years. The only reason why the Colts lost any games so far was that they stopped caring, as they had already secured a playoff berth, or at least, that’s the way it seems. Even Namath himself made the connection, and said that the team reminded him of his own run to the Super Bowl, from this article in the Star Ledger.
What is going to be the outcome?
Part of the reason why I love the playoffs is that huge upsets are possible.The point is you never can tell, which is why I don’t make predictions.Who would think that the Giants would have beaten the Patriots several years ago, or that the Cowboys would be so mercilessly humiliated by the Vikings? (Which was amazing to watch.) The AFC Championship Game and NFC Championship games will both be epic, and I would give payday loans to watch in person, but I’ll have to be content with my couch and my TV.