When the news came out last week that the New York Jets might explore a trade for Darrelle Revis, it was easy to dismiss the idea as typical new-regime fodder. Whenever a new coach or GM steps in, there’s an obligation to let everyone know that “all parts of our football team” are being evaluated. It’s a reminder to both the media and fans that there’s a reason someone was just fired, and that they shouldn’t worry — change is coming. But that change doesn’t usually include trading one of the 10 best players in football.
Over the weekend, the idea of Revis leaving town went from exploratory to seemingly imminent. Because Revis has a clause in his contract prohibiting New York from using the franchise tag on him when his deal is up at the end of this season, the hope is that the Jets can get something for their star cornerback rather than watching him walk away. For a team living life near the top of the cap and void of young talent on both sides of the ball, it’s a notion that might seem crazy but is actually worth exploring. One question that comes with this possibility isn’t whether Revis should be traded, but if he is, where he would fall among the best players ever dealt.
Here’s something I saw in 1998 and was certain I’d never see again: My Giant, starring Billy Crystal and Gheorghe Muresan. And here’s something else I saw in 1998 and was certain I would never see again: Indianapolis Colts fans giving up on their team before Week 3 of the NFL season. While I’m happy to report that I still haven’t given My Giant a second chance, thanks to the absence of Peyton Manning and an 0-2 start, the midnight hour of the Indianapolis apocalypse has already arrived and Colts fans have officially completed the biggest simultaneous jumping off of a team bandwagon in sports history.
Before I go any further and dig my own grave with Colts fans, let me make one thing perfectly clear — I’m not laughing at them, but rather laughing with them. There is no bigger bandwagon Colts fan in the world than me. When I was growing up on the west side of Indianapolis in the 1990s, the Colts were feared by the rest of the NFL about as much as the Olsen twins are feared by Golden Corral owners. So I wasn’t exactly a huge fan. Sure, they had some exciting players, such as Marshall Faulk, Jim Harbaugh, Tony Siragusa, and, um, that one guy (I think he was a receiver or tight end, maybe?), but with the exception of losing a thriller in the 1995 AFC Championship to the Pittsburgh Steelers, they were pretty much irrelevant. So instead of cheering on my hometown team, I decided to instead become a fan of an NFL powerhouse with a storied history of success, which is why I obviously started rooting for the Minnesota Vikings.
