You “Met” Your Life! …Or, “The Day We Met Met Life Stadium!”

The last time Esther and I went to a New York Jets football game, they played in a facility with the curious name of “Giants Stadium”. 

As best my research could determine, the stadium appears to have been named after the outsized antagonists of this classic Irwin Allen Sci-Fi TV series…

…OR, it could have been named after the reigning Super Bowl Champions!  Who can ever really tell for sure? 

Nevertheless, yesterday (September 09, 2012), the New York Jets beat the Buffalo Bills 48–28, on our first trip to the new football facility called “Met Life Stadium”!  …Possibly and incongruously named for Baseball’s New York Mets in some arcane connection with the classic Milton Bradley board game?    



...OR, maybe some big insurance company!  Again, can one ever really be certain?  

"MetLi" Stadium?  Where's the rest?

Scoring 48 points, quarterback Mark Sanchez and the Jets offense piled it on… and so did the Sun! 

Our seats, in the third level between the 40 and 50 yard lines, were in direct exposure to the Sun for the entire game.  There was nary a cloud in the sky to block the searing and penetrating rays.  (Why even Wayne Hunter could have offered better protection than did Mother Nature!  …Private Joke for Jets fans, sorry!)  When an occasional cloud DID appear, it was greeted with as many cheers as were Mark Sanchez and Darrelle Revis! 

Yay, Sanchez!  Yay, Revis!  YAAYY, CLOUDS! 

To make matters worse, a woman in an adjoining seat gave off a noticeable level of body odor – and, being the chivalrous husband that I am, I selflessly switched seats with Esther, providing her with as much cover and distance from the olfactory onslaught as could be.   

Was I watching “Le New Yorque Jettes” or sumpthin’? 

Former Jets and New England Patriots great Curtis Martin was honored by the Jets at halftime, on the occasion of his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Jets legend Joe Namath was a featured speaker – and only now has it dawned on me that I was actually in a stadium at a moment in which Namath was on the field!  …Wow! 

 Jets head coach Rex Ryan has lost so much weight in the off season that he was difficult to spot on the sidelines.  …If not for the fact that he still wears his trademark dark green sweater vest – even in the face of the unyielding sun (…albeit in a smaller size!) 

Highly touted Tim Tebow was a non-factor in the Jets’ offense this game.  With such a big lead built up by Sanchez and his runners and receivers, perhaps Coach Ryan is keeping Tebow’s wildcat a secret for another week!  Look out, Pittsburgh Steelers! 

The new Met Life Stadium is beautiful.  Indeed with this shrine for the Jets and Giants, the new Yankee Stadium, and the new Citi Field for the Mets – not to mention the soon-to-open Barclay’s Center for the Brooklyn Nets – we sports fans in New York are fortunate indeed! 

Finally, if you live on the New York side of the Hudson River and ever wish to travel to Met Life Stadium, (in East Rutherford, NJ) TAKE THE TRAIN! 

NJ Transit offers service from Penn Station (connecting shuttle from Secaucus Junction) that PULLS RIGHT UP TO THE STADIUM!  (Yes, as you see above, it's really THAT CLOSE! Click the Pic to Enlarge!) It is comfortable and easy to use.  I truly hated the ordeal of driving to the old Giants Stadium – and maybe went to fewer games than I wanted to because of that.  Now, with this great convenience, we’ll likely go more often. 

Indeed, the only unfortunate consequence of the day’s events (once I was again able to take-in a deep breath of clean fresh air) is the noticeable sunburn that continues to remind me that it’s there.  But, to see the Jets score 48 points, it was WOTRH IT! 

J-E-T-S!  …JETS! …JETS!  …JETS!