New York football fans were so eager for this season to get started. The Giants were coming off a season in which they won a playoff game, and the Jets added what was supposed to be the final puzzle piece in quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Halfway through the 2023-24 NFL season, fans of these teams have been left disappointed, a sentiment that is far too common in New York as of late.
For those who don’t live in the area, New York is a baseball town first and foremost. The Mets and Yankees are kings of the city, even when they don’t deserve to be. Much like the football teams of New York, the baseball teams had high expectations going into 2023, and fell far short of them.
The Yankees re-signed slugger Aaron Judge and first baseman Anthony Rizzo during the 2022-23 MLB offseason, but the only move they made to improve the team was signing Carlos Rodón. They lost in the ALCS the previous season, and figured the one move was enough to put them ahead of the Astros. The problem with that rationale is that every other team in the division (aside from the Red Sox) was making moves to get better. Injuries to Judge, Rizzo and Rodón set the Yankees back early. Shortstop Anthony Volpe, who some fans believed would be the next Derek Jeter, got off to an extremely slow start, and the front office had no choice but to keep putting him out there. The deficit in the division eventually became too large to come back from, and three teams in the AL East not named the Yankees made the playoffs.
The Mets had a historic offseason coming off a Wild Card Round loss to the San Diego Padres. (Somewhat) new owner Steve Cohen committed $500 million to free agents, including signing Justin Verlander, coming off a Cy Young season, to his age in millions per year. Similarly to the Yankees, early injuries (some fans felt the season was over before it started, when closer Edwin Díaz tore his Achilles tendon celebrating a World Baseball Classic victory) and poor performances set the team back, and the Mets became sellers by the deadline. They traded both of their 40-year-old aces, along with some position players on expiring contracts, and finished 29 games back in the NL East division.
Both baseball teams were out of it by August, and their futures aren’t looking very bright. The Yankees will retain GM Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone to the dismay of the fans, and the Mets will use 2024 as a bridge year, building up the farm for the future. For this reason, New York fans were itching for football early, and that excitement makes this disappointment so much worse.
Neither football team can score. The Jets have not put the ball in the end zone in the last eleven quarters of football, and the Giants were just blown out by the rival (albiet one-sided) Dallas Cowboys for the second time this season, being outscored 89-17.
My advice for the football/baseball fans of this city: get into basketball or hockey this year. The Knicks are a fun, likely playoff team to watch and there are no championship expectations. The Rangers are one of the best teams in hockey, and although it’s the least popular of the New York sports, its extremely fun to watch.
Hopefully, things will start looking up soon for this once-great city.
Tough Money Sports 