Rex Ryan Vs. Bill Belichick: Or, ‘Why You Should Root For New York’

On Friday I mentioned that it was too early to concede the AFC East to Bill Belichick and his cold, dead stranglehold on joy and spontaneity. And hark! The angels delivered a Jets victory.

And Belichick’s post-game press conference was about as joyless as you’d expect. “We just didn’t play well enough today,” he said. And the Jets: “Did a good job. Played better than we did. Coached better than we did. Did a good job. The team that plays the best will probably win, just like it always is.” And the coach that responds to questions with disinterested, monosyllabic answers will probably come off like an emotionless prick, just like always.

...And then there’s Rex Ryan and the Jets.

“Great friggin job!” Coach Ryan told his team afterward. “We should have had it last week, but we didn’t. And I know one thing. This was for the non-believers in this football team. And there were many. This is the first of many wins this year. Okay? Here we go, baby!”

And that, my friends, is why we were rooting for Rex Ryan last weekend. And by we, I mean me. Because he wears his emotions on his sleeve, and he’s not afraid to get too excited.

As for Belichick, you might think to yourself, “Well that’s just how any losing coach would react.” And maybe that’s true, but never forget the Coach Belichick’s is a special brew of heartless detachment blended with disdain for outsiders, and even after a win, he’d pale in comparison to Ryan’s fat guy good nature.

After last week’s Bengals win, for instance, Belichick said he was “Happy for the whole team, we had good preparation, good week of practice, and I thought that they made enough plays out there to win.”

Personally, I’d rather root for “Great friggin job!” And after Sunday’s win, New York’s now in the driver’s seat in the battle with New England, and the preseason media darlings are officially back on track.

”Here we go, baby!

(HT: Gang Green Nation)