Part II: AFC Championship recap, the bad

The first half of the game was amazing, as the Jets took a 17-6 lead late in the second quarter. Sanchez threw a great TD bomb to Braylon Edwards, Brad Smith completed a huge pass to Jerricho out of the Tiger formation, the running game was doing ok, not great, and the defense hit Peyton Manning hard early. There were a lot of audible "De-Fense!" chants coming from the Jets fans throughout the first half. But two missed field goals by Jay Feely had me worried. I knew the Jets would need every possible point. And that second kick allowed Manning to start around his own 40 with 2:30 left in the second quarter. Four plays later, the Colts scored and they Jets took a four-point lead into halftime. Despite that lead, I knew they were in huge trouble.

On the two jumbo HD scoreboards, I hated that they only showed Colts replays. Every Jet penalty was shown again in regular speed and slow motion, not one Colt penalty. At halftime, only Colt scoring plays were shown again, nothing from the Jets. It was pathetic and unprofessional. The only thing worse that the stadium operations was the second half. When Dallas Clark caught a TD pass to extend the Colts lead to 27-17 with five minutes left, I knew it was over. The Jets' powerful defense had been beaten. So I left. As I stormed through the concourse, I cursed out loud. And this fat prick with a long, gray beard in a yellow security jacket (he looked like he'd been fired from the Gorton's Fishing company) stops me. He yelled at me about how there was a no-vulgarity process at LOS and threatened to have the police escort me out. Not that I condone profanity, but I am entitled to free speech. He could just have warned me in a respectful manner, but a threat of police action was totally unnecessary. So after assuring him that I was already leaving, I stormed down the stairs and north towards the Marriott. I stomped through the lobby past a bunch of people watching the end of the nightmare and took the elevator down to the parking garage. As I walked through the glass door that led to the card, I began to feel my jacket pocket. I felt a sick chill run through my body. No keys.

I wound up losing them at the tailgate. In the lobby that night, I recognized a few people from the tailgate. I told them what happened, and they asked if they had a certain keychain and I confirmed that they did. I left my cell number with them and just hoped for the best. Problem is I have no idea who took them when they fell out of my jacket. So I will probably never see them again, barring a miracle.

After suffering through a horrible finish to that game, I had to stay in that dump of a town for four more hours. Thank God for Mom. She drove from Chicago in four hours and gave me my extra set of keys. While I waited, I mostly played my I-Pod and prayed to God those four hours would just fly by. They took so long to pass. Every minute seemd to take an hour. the sight of a blue shirt made me want to sneer. Plus, I was in a lot of pain in my neck and ankles from a lot of running fast and also sitting for so long. On the phone, Mom encouraged me to have dinner at the hotel, but I was so depressed and so aggravated, I could barely force down a sip of water.

After Mom's GPS took her through a cornfield somewhere, she got in around 9:45. We took off and I was not stopping for anything. I probably drove 80 mph all the wayto North Avenue and got in around midnight, CST. So that was an 18-hour run. Nine hours of bliss, nine hours of anguish. Had it in me to wolf down some chicken breast with chips and Frontera salsa.

And the kicker? Fifteen minutes before Mom walked into the hotel lobby, for no particular reason, I opened my wallet. My third car key was right there. I completely forgot about it. I'm never telling her about that...

Part I: AFC Championship recap, the good

I finalized my ticket for the big game around 10:30 on Saturday morning. I think for the rest of the day, I had two thoughts prevailing in my head. "I can't believe I'm going to the AFC Championship game" and "I can't freakin' believe my team is playing in it!"

So on Sunday, I woke up at 5:20 am. I made two large sub sandwiches: salami, capicola, provolone, roasted peppers, and marinated mushrooms on french bread because you can't get semolina in Chicago). Threw plenty of Cherry Coke and Budweiser into the cooler too.

Left the house at 6 am sharp. For three hours, I played WFAN and ESPN radio clips. All in all, the drive took about 3:45. I crossed into the Eastern time zone at Franklin, IN and got into downtown Indianapolis around 10:45 local time. I tried to find the South St tailgate, which was supposed to be next to Lucas Oil Stadium, but every road around the stadium seemed to be moving in one direction. And I had never been to this town before. So I just drove four blocks north to the Marriott hotel and parked underground.

I wolfed down one of the sandwiches and two Buds and walked towards the stadium. I was amazed that I saw so much green as I strolled down Capitol St. For every two Colt jerseys, I saw one Jets jersey. I realized quickly that this was ho-hum for Indy and meant everything for the Jets fans.

On the east side of the stadium, I head loud music. In a small parking lot, I saw a Jets flag flying high on a camopy and about 20-30 people dressed in green. Excited to hang with some Jets fans, which never happens in Chicago, I ran across the street. One of the two girls immediately offered me a beer. I introduced myself to a bunch of people, though we had to shout over the loud music. Everyone seemed impressed I was from Chicago. Almost everyone I met came from the Tri-State area. About half drove in and half flew in. Within two hours of me arriving, the crowd grew to 800-900 people. There were a few Colt cars around us, but they knew to keep their distance.

We played the CBS NFL theme, a ton of fight songs, and I screamed "Empire State of Mind." Well, the chorus anyway. I still haven’t quite got Jay-Z’s lines down yet. And at least 12 J-E-T-S chants! It was great to scream J-E-T-S with other people. I’m used to yelling it alone in rookie's or Real Time and sounding like an idiot. My voice was shot and the game was still two hours off!

Around 12:45 PM, across the street from our tailgate, we saw three buses pull up surrounded by police cars. Everyone around me screamed and then began a mad sprint straight towards the buses. I soon realized it was the Jets players. We stormed them, screaming at the top of our lungs. We kept cheering as the buses drove down the ramp underneath LOS. This was a chance to go to the Super Bowl!

Local news crew from New York interviewed a few of us which was pretty neat. I kept asking people around me “Is this real? Are we really one game away from going to the Super Bowl?” So many smiles and cheers. It was pure energy, jubilation, excitement, and anticipation.

But I have to throw one complaint in. The jackoffs in the Indy police department are obviously not used to fans who actually show passion, energy, and are willing to speak their minds. One guy got thrown against a cop car and was tasered. There was no property damage, there were no fights, or anything like that. And if that's not bad enough, the guy got tasered right in front of his own father. When one other Jets fan said the cops did not have to do that, he got yelled at and was threatened with arrest. Really classy people. I doubt those pusses tasered one Colts fan.

Let's see what else. I met linebacker David Harris’ family. About seven or eight of them. I’m guessing it was his sister who had this hair combo of fuscia, Jet green, and black. Remarkable.

About 1:50, I got ready to go inside. I found myself talking to a few people all wearing #36 jerseys. The mom and daughter asked me if I knew who wore #36. And I was so out of it and my voice was so drained from all the yelling, I said "David Barrett?", who wore that number in the early 2000's. So I blew it with Jim Leonhard’s gorgeous sister.

So I went inside, and found my seat in the 5^th of 21 rows in upper deck on the 20 yard line. The stadium was quite beautiful, with the great views, spacious concourses, and intimate feel. Most of the Jets fans were right at the top of the stadium. So I was surrounded by Colts fans. I have to say the people were decent. But I made sure to high-five every Jets fan who walked up the stairs past my seat. I would think of the 65,000 fans, 10,000 or 12,000 had to be Jets fans.

Jets Chargers live updates

End of first quarter: The best thing right now is San Diego is not clicking. They have used two time outs and gotten called for four penalties. The WR's have done very little against Revis and the Jets secondary. But Antonio Gates has made some catches on 3rd down. He is excellent, I must credit him. I really don't know how he can be stopped. I liked Nate Kaeding missing another playoff field goal.

On offense, the Jets offense has been unable to get a first down on three possession. The Tiger formation has lost yardage both times it was run. And Sanchez has completed 1 of 3 passes for -1 yards. He looks very very nervous.

Second quarter: 7-0 SD. The Jets usually anemic pass rush is getting near Rivers, but they are not hitting him. That must change. They had better score on this possession, because this offense has looked horrible.

Late second quarter: didn't happen. Another punt. The Jets have reached Charger territory twice, but have come up empty both times.

Early third quarter: They are running better, I think Shonn Greene can be an All-Pro back. The Jets took their first possession of the half and finally kicked a field goal, so it's 7-3. Quick 3 and out for San Diego. This is an ugly, sloppy game, which is exactly what the Jets need. And the SD punter's kicks are amazing.

End third quarter: Weatherford punts the ball down to the 2. First play, Jim Leonhard with a huge INT, returns the ball 11 yards to the 16. First time the Jets are in the red zone. And a penalty on SD has moved the ball half the distance to the goal. First down Jets on the SD 7. A TD is essential here. I would look to Dustin Keller...

Early 4th quarter: I CALLED IT! Sanchez rolls out on 3rd down and hits Keller in the back corner of the end zone. 10-7 Jets!

9:40: Chargers get one first down. Mike DeVito sacks Rivers, Bryan Thomas and David Harris with some fierce tackles, capped off by Kerry Rhodes sacking Philip Rivers. And on the punt, Cotch returns the ball 25 yards to the 34. I'm feeling pretty good. I seriously think if they can get a field goal and force SD to score another TD the Jets will win this game.

7:26: To hell with a field goal! Greenie busts it 53 yards! 17-7! It was set up by a clutch 3rd down conversion by J-Co on a 3rd and 4. Could this really be happening? Why did Feely just squib kick? Chargers start at their 45. Terrible.

4:45: Kaeding misses another field goal, this one from 40 yards out! Jets ball! This is gonna freakin' happen!

3:30: San Diego came inches from blocking Weatherford's punt. Luckily, it somehow gets through. I now believe the Jets are meant to win. We are getting a lot of breaks. SD starts at the 32.

3:07: Vincent Jackson makes an amazing catch at the Jets 20. How he kept his feet in bounds and fought off double coverage, I have no idea. But then this jackass kicks the challenge flag! 15 yard penalty on the Chargers.

2:14: OK, SD is now pissed off. Sproles immediately with a 19 yard catch and takes it out of bounds. Four plays later, Rivers runs it in from 1 yard out. 17-14. One TO left for both teams. I'm a little nervous. Still feeling OK. Rhodes with an amazing play to get the sky0-high onside kick at the Charger 38. Enormous!!!

1:009: 4th an 1 on the SD 29. First down and the game is over. Make it, game over. Miss it, Chargers will probably tie the game. I would go for it.

THOMAS JONES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Makes it. Here we come Indy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JETS WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! J E T S JETS JETS JETS!!!!

Two straight nights?

I guess a lot of emotions leads to me wanting to express myself. I felt tremendous joy today. At Feed My Starving Children, there were 90 of us packing food. About 60 were grade school kids from First Baptist. Our goal was to fill 100 boxes (3600 meals total). We did 104 boxes in one hour and are going to feed 62 kids for one year. After the devastating earthquake, it is that much more important since almost all of Haiti needs the food, not just the orphanages.

I got to work in the warehouse, running and stacking boxes, refilling soy and rice, and scooping ingredients from huge sacks into bins. The cool part was a news crew from Channel 7 ABC was there and they filmed me scooping soy. From my media work, I knew not to look at the camera and the guy filmed just me for 30 solid seconds. Of course, all anyone would really see was my hairnet! I'm recording every ABC news telecast until noon tomorrow. Maybe I will see myself on TV tomorrow?!

I'm glad Court and I got to have dinner by ourselves. I certainly missed Steph, J-Schu, Burnie, and Fish, but a little 1-on-1 time is good too. And Blackie's serves some huge portions. I really enjoyed my Cajun chicken sandwich. I almost got the sandwich with guacamole and honey mustard, but I just don't know how well those two would go together. And we had some really good conversation too.

Andthen there's the Mets. Beltran had microfracture knee surgery and the Mets never knew. Now he will need 12 weeks of recovery time before he can resume baseball activities and will miss the start of the season. What a disaster. It's 2010 and absolutely nothing has changed.

Collin Raye: "But I never knew how quickly I would go from someone you love to someone you used to know."

I am listening to "I Never Go Around Mirrors" for the sixth straight time.

Should have gone out tonight

And watched the Rangers-Devils instead of coming straight home. Because this is turning into one rough evening that should never have happened. I'm not feeling upset or angry, I'm just thinking things should have been different.

I came home to read great news on Facebook posted by a friend of the past. How things change so suddenly. And what I knew what was obvious got spelled out for me. Really, it was like reading a headline. "Conan sucks doing the Tonight Show." And then I checked the mail and found my college alumni magazine, one of the most pointless reads I get. It's like half faculty and student profiles and the other half is the most depressing stories about how screwed up the world is. The only thing worth reading in that thing is the catching up section. Fine quality paper though. Of course I found JA in big huge letters along with Friendly have edited a compilation book on Africa. And the damn thing is on Borders, Amazon, Tower Records. How about going there and staying? And take your memory with you.

Funny, I don't even care. Some people get rewarded differently than others. And some people are cursed in other areas. I only wish I knew the reasons for all of it. I guess this is my question. Why is it almost every time I get optimistic about the future does it get smashed? Whether by me or someone else? And to the few friends I have who are engaged, good luck. I hope you never have to go through what I've seen those close to me go through.

So it's all come to this. It's Tuesday night, I have to work, and I'm playing country music and hanging with Miller. The newspaper agate may not look too clean tomorrow. I just hope one day I figure out my place in this whole labyrinth. Because right now, I don't feel like I have one. And God help me, I'm 18 months from turning 30.

But tomorrow will come. Till then, BJ is on the speakers. Hey won't you play another somebody done somebody wrong song.

Two hours...

Until the Jets begin their 2010 postseason against the Bengals. I'm very excited as evidenced by my two Jets bracelets, Pennington jersey, and Jets license plate frame.

The weather is going to be very cold and windy and both these teams pride themselves on running the football. So it will likely be low-scoring. The Bengals have the superior quarterback, although the Jets counter with the best defense in football and unarguably, the best cover CB in Darrelle Revis. Man, if this defense just had a pure pass rusher. I think behind that great offensive line, Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene will run better for the Jets than Cedric Benson will for Cincinnati. That will allow Jay Feely to kick a few field goals and that will be key. The most important thing is the Jets (Greene and Sanchez, especially) cannot turn the football over. This has been their undoing in so many of their losses and they cannot win in the playoffs if they continue to do that. Suffice to say, I expect this game to go down to the last possession and the Jets will pull it out.

Now I will not be home. I will be watching at Rookie's, because I believe Mom will be home this afternoon. And I would like to spare her of feeling my emotions and instead share them with 100 strange strangers. Of course, road rage then enters the situation...

Song pick: "Can I See You Tonight" Tanya Tucker