After the Jets shocked the Patriots in Foxboro, the King and I set our sights on going to Pittsburgh again. This time for the AFC Championship Game.
We stopped off at a Wendy's in Warwick, Rhode Island to get something to eat on our way home.
Surprisingly, we weren't alone. In fact we had a bunch of Jet fans who arrived there around the same time as us. After we ordered and started eating more came in. It was quite a scene.
We all started talking to each other. One guy in particular exchanged contact information with me. His name was Brian Moffett. Brian told me he has a house on Staten Island and a place in Manhattan. The King and I said we were from Queens.
We said we're going to Pittsburgh next Sunday. I was planning to rent a car. Brian responded you don't have to, I'll drive my wife's car there.
After communicating back and forth all week, we arranged to meet up by the King's place in Astoria Sunday morning.
All we had to do next was secure tickets for the game.
By Tuesday night, I had a deal in place through Craigslist with a guy named Rob Jones who lived in the Pittsburgh area.
Thanks to our friend Mike Irr who lives in Pittsburgh we were able to pull off the transaction.
After work I spoke to Rob and I told him the situation. He seemed reluctant to overnight the tickets.
After I heard the horror stories he had to deal with because a few other people told him they wanted the tickets before I spoke to him, I couldn't blame him.
I personally knew what it was like since it's happened to me on a number of occasions too.
With that being said, I managed to convince Rob that he wouldn't have a problem dealing with me.
I proceeded to have our friend Mike Irr go to meet him at a mall that was convenient for both of them so they could make the exchange.
By Wednesday morning, the deal was finalized. Rob got his money and Mike got our tickets.
All we had to do was meet Mike in Pittsburgh to get them. Since the weather forecast was going to be so brutal, Mike didn't want to attend the game.
In the meantime, Brian found another person on Craigslist who wanted a ride to the game.
His name was Nick Pallas.
Nick was an interesting young man. He's only 26 and he's been over the world already he told us. This is partly due to being a military veteran since he spent 3 years with the US Marines.
In addition, he has his own photography business where he does weddings and other special events all around the world.
For further details, please feel free to check out his website, http://www.nickypallas.com/.
Nick met us in Astoria as well and we all went to see the Jets play the Steelers at Heinz Field.
Before getting there we had to make a pit stop in Crafton, Pennsylvania which is located about 12 miles West of Pittsburgh to meet our friend Mike Irr who had our tickets.
We gave him the money he laid out for us and he gave us the tickets for the game.
We went back to the downtown Pittsburgh area so we could get ready for the big game.
We wound up circling around the area to find a parking spot. We ironically wound up parking on the same street that we did for the Winter Classic on New Year's Day night.
After we parked the car, we all finished layering up and then we walked over to Heinz Field to witness history. The winner was going to Dallas to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.
As for the game we saw, we came with high hopes and we left with disappointment.
The Jets decided that like most games this season they would play a partial game and they thought they would rely on another miracle finish to get them to the Super Bowl in Dallas.
This time their luck ran out. They dug too deep a hole in the first half to overcome their lackluster start.
It started when they won the coin toss and they decided to defer their possession to the second half.
By doing so, they put their defense on the field first. Their defense was awful in the first half, they couldn't stop the Steelers offense especially running back Rashard Mendenhall who ran wild as the Steelers built a 24-3 lead at half time.
In the second half, it was a different story. The Jets finally woke up. Unfortunately they appeared to have a chance to mount a comeback and possibly win the game but the Steeler defense stuffed them at the goal line as time kept ticking away.
The Jets wound up coming up short for the second year in a row as they lost 24-19!
On the bright side, they have a potential legend in the making at quarterback in Mark Sanchez.
After getting blind sided by Ike Taylor late in the second quarter that led to the ultimate winning touchdown, Mark came back in the second half and he was magnificent.
He put the Jets in position to win but once again the defense couldn't give him one last chance to engineer another miracle finish.
His time will come. Time will tell. He's a very special talent. We'll wait and see if in due time he does indeed get over the hump.
Despite the tale of two halves, I still found a way to enjoy myself throughout the day and night.
First we got to meet and greet Brian and Nick then when we were at the game I got to talk to a few young guys who were from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
They were Joseph D'Urso and his friend Angelo. I had a great time being able to meet and greet them too.
Joseph was attending first ever NFL game. Since he's from Canada that's makes a lot of sense.
Angelo said he liked the Packers but he was there because his brother and cousin were going and they were big Steeler fans. They wound up sitting in a different location.
Luckily for me, Joseph and Angelo were right next to me so we were able to enjoy each other's company.
We exchanged contact information so I hope to cross paths with them again in the future.
Despite the Jets coming up on the short end of the score, it was well worth the time and money it took to be there live.
On the other hand, if I stayed home none of this would have happened.
That's what life's all about. Everyday is a gift and a potential adventure.
Thank you for reading and following along.
Yours truly,
Gary Herman
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